


Down the Rabbit Hole

by Ukiyo_22



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Additional tags will be added, Attempt at Humor, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bad Jokes, But for those of you who don’t, F/M, Fluff, How do I write romance??, I Ship It, I should get a Beta Reader though, Like, M/M, Not Beta Read, Slight ADeuce, Slow Burn, There are more pairings I swear, We Die Like Men, houston we have a problem, i don’t know what i’m doing, just squint and it’s platonic, let’s go with that, maybe it’s just a really close friendship, maybe who knows, oh well, platonic?, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24218707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ukiyo_22/pseuds/Ukiyo_22
Summary: “Oh shit, did I get kidnapped by a cult?”Waking up in an unknown, albeit very fancy room was not on her bucket list.Then again, neither was getting dragged into a college and being thrown into an unknown world filled with magical dangers.But it’s not as if things could get worse, right?(Twisted-Wonderland © Disney, Aniplex)
Relationships: Azul Ashengrotto & Original Character(s), Idia Shroud & Original Character(s), Kalim Al-Asim & Original Character(s), Leona Kingscholar & Original Character(s), Malleus Draconia & Original Character(s), Riddle Rosehearts & Original Character(s), Vil Schoenheit & Original Character(s)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 224





	1. Welcome to The Cult!

“Oh shit, did I get kidnapped by a cult?” 

Waking up in an unknown, albeit very fancy room, was definitely not on my bucket list today. I slowly sat up from my uncomfortable position on the stone floor, shivering slightly as a cold draft breezed through the room. Rubbing my eyes, I let out a tremendous yawn, trying to shake the weariness out of my system. All things considered, I probably should’ve been just a tad more concerned with my current situation, but at the moment, I was far too out of it to feel anything except indifference. 

Craning my neck around, I examined my surroundings with a curious eye. The room was rounded, quite an odd thing to see nowadays, with a glowing, circular platform in the center, lighting up what was an otherwise completely dark room. 

The marble platform shone a soft green beam of light up to the ceiling, dramatically illuminating what appeared to be a large, floating oval mirror with an unlit chandelier hanging just above it. Shifting my attention around the room, I squinted at the dark, bobbing shapes floating in the air, tilting my head quizzically as I squinted at them. “What...are those?”

I got off of the cold stone ground, absentmindedly rubbing the dull ache in my neck. Making my way to the floating shapes, I scrutinized them with a raised brow. I couldn’t see any cords attaching them to the ceiling or walls, but with the lack of lighting in the room, I couldn’t be certain. I shook my head, quickly losing interest in the bobbing objects. I could figure out what they were later. Turning back around, I faced the the elegant floating mirror, my curiosity flaring up once more. 

It drew me closer, like metal to a magnet. I didn’t know what it was about the mirror. Perhaps it was because it was the centerpiece of the room, designed to draw and keep my attention, or perhaps it was something else. Whatever the case, I trailed my hand across its ornate silver trim, noting that there wasn’t a speck in dust on the thing. Peering into glass, I quirked a brow upward when I didn’t see my familiar reflection greeting me back. I leaned towards it, hesitating slightly before tapping the glass surface.

“Hello~..? Do you do anything?”

The mirror shook. Once, twice, and then a dark misty substance erupted from the glass with a loud whoosh, forcing me to recoil back. Instinctively, I covered my mouth and nose as I backed away. Who knew what would happen if I inhaled that stuff? The mist swirled around the mirror a couple times, causing the chandelier above it to sway with a rustle of its chains before it faded away. 

Silence filled the air, a sense of disturbing unease following it. What...was that mist? Before I had a chance to properly process what the hell had just spewed itself out of the mirror, the glass surface flared up as vivid jade flames illuminated the room, sending me stumbling even farther away from the mirror.

**_“Ahh… My dear beloved.”_**

Chains rustled as a footstep echoed throughout the room. Wrenching my gaze away from the flaming mirror, my eyes flicked around the room, desperately trying to pinpoint the source of the voice, but even with the additional light provided by the mirror, I couldn’t spot anyone.

__

**_“A lovely and noble flower of evil.”_**

**_“Truly, you are the most beautiful of all.”_**

**_Crack! ___**

__

____

Startled from the sudden noise, my gaze snapped over to the source of the sound. A fissure had appeared in the stone wall to my left, letting a bright, white ray of light shine through. 

**_“Mirror, mirror, on the wall.”_**

**_“Who is the-”_**

I let out a shrill shriek as a section of the ceiling collapsed, nearly crushing me beneath the rubble. 

**_Crack! ___**

____

____

**_Crack! ___**

____

____

**_Rumble…! ___**

____

____

With each passing word, the fissure began to snake its way around the room, leaving cracks all around the floor. Chunks of the broken stone room began to crumble away, leaving a blinding white void in its place. 

I was frozen in place, yet my mind was racing at the speed of light as the room collapsed around me. What do I do? What do I do?! Scrambling back onto the platform, I realized that I had only about three feet of stone floor around me before the platform that I stood upon would begin to crack as well. 

**_“Those who are guided by the dark mirror.”_**

**_“As long as your heart desires.”_**

**_RUMBLE!!_**

The platform shook violently, nearly throwing me off as a large fracture broke through its pristine surface. A chunk crumbled away from beneath my foot, sending a wave of primal terror racing through me as the situation fully set in. 

I was going to die. I was going to die listening to some prick give a dramatic soliloquy to a fucking mirror. Tears pricking in my eyes, my expression crumbled as I collapsed in on myself, my knees buckling to the ground. I don’t want to die. **I don’t want to die!**

**_“Take the hand that appears in the mirror.”_**

What? Looking up from my pitiful position, there was indeed a hand floating in the mirror, a swirling vortex distorting its once smooth surface. Despite my situation, and the fact that death loomed right behind me, I was hesitant to reach out and take it. 

Should I trust the voice? 

There was nothing to prove that taking the hand would ensure my safety, but staying in the room and falling into a white void of nothingness certainly wouldn’t either. Another loud crack pulled me out of my stupor. I didn’t have any time left to spare. 

It was now or never. 

Screwing my eyes shut, I thrust my hand into the mirror and leapt in, entrusting my fate to a stranger that I had never met. 

.

.

.

It was warm.

Their hand was warm. They delicately tugged me towards them and at the back of my mind, I could tell that they were saying something. Were they talking to me? Regardless, it went ignored, washed out by the soft fuzziness that I felt bubbling up inside of me. 

I felt safe. When was the last time I had completely felt safe? From deep inside my chest, the sense of warmth and security gently wrapped itself around me like a cozy blanket, gently lulling me to sleep with whispered promises of happiness in a sirens sweet voice. 

I listened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have fallen down the rabbit hole and I can’t get out TvT
> 
> Fair warning, I’m re-editing the chapters and on a suuuuper long hiatus (as of 11/26/20), so please scream at me in the comments if the parts of the writing/dialogue are clunky or feel out of character. (I think the first eight or so chapters are decent enough, but constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!)


	2. You Mean I Actually Have to Learn?

_Rattle!_

-

-

_Rattle!_

Cracking a weary eye open, I let out a tired groan as I put a hand to my he-

_Thump!_

Oh, I guess not. My hand hit a hard surface, presumably wood from the dull thump that resounded. I blinked a couple times, trying to adjust my vision to the darkness. The seconds ticked by, but nothing happened. My eyes weren’t adjusting.

Wherever I was, there was no light, quite a stark contrast to the blinding void that I had nearly fallen into. Involuntarily, I shuddered, a spine tingling chill crawling down my back as I recalled the events that led up to this. Yeah, let’s not think about that. 

Slowly feeling the space around me, it was clear that I was in a tiny, enclosed container of sorts. I tried to shift around, twisting this way and that with minimal success. I was barely able to bend either of my legs without my knees thumping into wood. Was I in a coffin? 

I hummed, my brows furrowing as my mind began to slowly process the facts that I could deduce. I was in a confined, wooden space that conveniently fit my height and size, but I was standing up. Who leaves a coffin standing up? Not only that, I was very obviously alive, so I shouldn’t be inside a coffin. 

I audibly gasped. Could I be a ghost? Had I gained some ghostly power, and come back to haunt the living on a mission of revenge? I stared intently at the lid of the coffin, trying my best to activate my ghostly powers and phase through.

It didn’t work. 

Dang.

_Rattle!_

_Rattle!_

“Crap… people are coming… gotta get a uniform while…-“

There was someone outside! I was fully ready to start banging on the lid with all my might in a desperate bid to try and grab their attention, but I paused, my curled fist just an inch away from the lid. 

They don’t have a uniform? People are coming? Regardless of what was going on, it was clear that whoever was outside was not supposed to be there. I slowly lowered my hands, uncurling them as I took a deep breath in and out, trying to calm my racing heart. I’ll try to escape again once they leave.

“Grrr! The lid is too heavy..! Time for…. for my secret move!”

Their what? Despite my best efforts to play dead and remain silent, I softly snorted from inside my wooden prison. It was endearing, like a child announcing their magical superpower. 

The amused grin was quickly wiped from my face as I heard a muffled roar from outside the coffin, turning into a full-on grimace when I felt the heat that followed. Against my better judgment, I reached a hand out to gingerly touch the lid, letting out a short hiss as I yanked it back as fast as humanly possible. The lid was _searing_ hot. 

There wasn’t a lot of space in the coffin, but I pressed myself back as far as I could, covering my mouth and nose with my sleeve as wispy threads of smoke began to weave their way through the cracks of the lid. Did they start a fire or something? Why was there smoke?!

“Guwaaahuh~~! There!”

The lid unceremoniously fell off with an audible clatter. The heat that had crawled its way in burst out of the newly opened coffin. The cold air that rushed in to replace it practically slapped me in the face with the sudden temperature switch. Taking a moment to properly adjust to the temperature change, I let out a sigh of relief as I basked in the cool air. 

“Okay, okay! Gotta get- aaaaAAAAAAHHH!!!”

An ear-shattering shriek pierced the air, sounding something like a cross between a goat and a rooster. Ears ringing like my morning alarm, I dazedly tried to walk out of my coffin, expecting it to be on the ground. 

It was not on the ground.

My foot met empty air, sending me crashing onto the ground with the grace of a drunk horse that decided to try and climb a tree. “GwAH!” 

Who decided to have floating coffins?! Wait, floating coffins? Lifting my throbbing head up from the ground, I tried my best to look around the room. It was an exact replica of the cult room that I had previously woken up in. So that’s what the floating shapes were!

“Why are you up?!”

Standing- no, floating there in front of me, was a fluffy, gray cat..raccoon animal. With electric blue flames replacing its inner ear fur, a three-pronged pitchfork shaped tail, and a black and white striped bow adorning its neck, the floating cat’s eyes comically widened, forming a remarkably human-like expression of surprise as it hovered in the air, unsure of how to proceed.

I let out a huff of mild exasperation as I tried to sit up from my awkward position on the floor, only to be hit with a truck-load of vertigo, causing the room to swirl around me as I tried to get my bearings straight. “Wuh-Well, when someone makes a loud ruckus, and nearly roas-roasts someone alive, it tends to wake people up… uh... Mr. Cat.”

I could hear the indignance in his voice as he verbally stumbled around a bit, making various stuttered noises of offense before he jabbed an offended paw towards me. “Who are you calling a _cat_?!” Posing flamboyantly with a paw on the white patch of fur on his chest, he continued his self-centered rant. “I am the Great Grim!”

My face fell blank as I squinted at the floating raccoon, my mind bluescreening. “The who-do what now?”

Irritation flitted across his features for a brief second as he visibly deflated, pouting childishly. “Well, whatever.” He was quick to recover however, his mouth quirking upwards into an unsettling grin. “Hey, human!”

Groaning, I placed my forehead onto my arms as I stood up, leaning onto the floating coffin for physical ~~and mental~~ support. “Hgh...What?”

“Hurry and gimme those clothes!”

“ _What?!_ ” I instinctively covered myself with my hands, before I realized that I was wearing an additional layer of clothing. Looking down at myself, I noticed that along with my normal street clothes, consisting of a simple white t-shirt and ripped jeans, I was also wearing a long, black hooded robe. The feathery soft lining inside of the robe was a deep, royal purple, while the outer edges were lined with elegant gold designs that swooped and swirled around in circular, sweeping patterns. 

Putting aside its disturbing resemblance to a cultist robe, it was pretty spiffy looking if I did say so myself. I planted a hand on my hip, raising an uncharacteristically rebellious brow as I stared back up at the floating raccoon.

“What if I don’t want to?”

The unnerving smile carved onto his face seemed to widen. “If you don’t...” He smugly lifted his chin, staring down at me as he theatrically threw his arms wide open, bright blue flames leaping up on cue. “I’ll roast ya!”

The flames quickly spread about, circling around the room. Absentmindedly, I wondered if they had caused some form of property damage, before quickly waving it off because of course it did. It was _fire_. 

My inner debate on property damage was quickly swept away however, overshadowed by the horrific thought that I could get burnt alive. Getting roasted alive by a floating cat-raccoon animal thing was _not_ the way I wanted to go. It ranked down there alongside dying by a cheesegrater. “Uh-uh, no way. I _refuse_ to die by the hand..- paw of a cat-raccoon.”

His smug grin crumpled as he stomped the air, almost like he was throwing a childish tantrum before he threw a sharp glare at me, pointing a frustrated paw in my direction. “I said I’m not a freaking- auGH!!”

During his hissy fit, I had grabbed the fallen coffin lid and threw it at Grim. It was heavier than expected, so it fell a bit short of the original trajectory, but it managed to pin him down, which was good enough for me! Whirling around, I spotted a pair of grand double doors behind me. I quickly ran up to them, intending to throw them open, before I froze, a jarring thought striking me like lightning. 

What if something dangerous is waiting for me outside? Best case scenario, it‘s the exit. Worst case scenario, it’s another cult, waiting for me behind the doors. The shrill, raging screams from a furious Grim only served to remind me of my very short time limit, so steeling my nerves, I made my decision and flung open the set of wooden doors. 

With a loud slam, they parted. The frigid night air rushed into the room, caressing my rosy face as I raced out of the room. I quickly flicked the hood of my robe over my head as I turned a right, entering a grand stone hallway. It was gorgeous, with elegant pillars and archways that overlooked the flourishing courtyard garden. A lush, fluffy carpet greeted my feet- I shook my head vigorously. No time to admire the architecture! Move! _Move!!_

I sprinted down the hallway, slamming open another set of doors to reveal what looked like a lecture hall-esque classroom. Rows and rows of wooden seats sat on the side of the room, facing an empty space in the middle. There was a large blackboard hanging on the back of the wall behind a teacher's desk with books stacked precariously atop. On both sides were wooden bookshelves, stuffed to the brim with even more books, and- it’s a dead end. Aghhh! Stop wasting time looking at the decor!

Quickly pulling myself out of the classroom, I turned a sharp left and ran out into the courtyard, bolting past the twisting apple trees, and well-groomed hedge trees. There were four stone paths, including the one I was darting down, that intersected into a circle in the middle, surrounding an old well. 

Once I got to the middle, I quickly looked between the three paths that lay in front of me. Uh..uhm, which one to take? I let out an infuriated sound that was a cross between a groan and scream as I threw my hands up in frustration. I picked a random direction and sprinted down the path, the wind whipping through my robe as I charged by. 

The path took me down a windowless hallway that branched out, turning into a long labyrinth of hallways and corridors with no end in sight. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, I reached the end, a pair of smooth oak doors greeting me. Sparing no time, I practically kicked them open, stumbling my way into a library. Having already learned my lesson, I was determined not to waste any more time examining the decor, so instead, I focused on looking for a way out.

It was a dead end. Just my luck.

I was thoroughly lost at this point, turning round and round to see if I could hide anywhere. “Huh-how big is thi-this place?!”

Before I could even properly catch my breath, electric blue flames sparked up once more, forming a circle around me as they danced around the room, scorching the carpeted floor and even some of the floating books. “Did you really think you’d get away from my nose?” Grim scoffed, a shit-eating smirk crossing his face. “Dumb human!”

Panting, I turned around to face the egotistical raccoon, forced to slowly inch closer to get away from the scorching heat of the flames. “Oh, scruh-screw you!”

The smug smirk fell, replaced by an animalistic growl. “If you don’t wanna get roasted, better hand over-“

_Whoosh!_

“BuwaGH!!” Grim was suddenly yanked back, the flames around me sputtering out, leaving most of the carpeted floor and walls a dark, charcoal black. “Ow! What’s with this rope?”

Rope? Blinking rapidly, my eyes widened as I realized that there was indeed a rope wrapped around Grim’s body, trapping him in place. That was fast! When did that happen?

“This is no mere rope. It is a lash of love!”

From the corner of the room, emerged a male figure. I sweatdropped, whether from the remaining heat, or the man’s choice in clothing, I couldn’t tell, but he looked ready for a masquerade. His black slacks, tie, and embroidered vest would have been formal enough, but he was dressed to the _tens_. 

He donned an elegant, feathered black cape speckled with white dots, glowing like they were stars in the night sky. Covering the top half of his face was a black raven-like mask, bearing a strong resemblance to a plague doctor’s mask that you’d see in the 1600s. Black lace curled around the edges, drawing intricate designs around his glowing amber eyes. To top it all off, he wore a black top hat with a deep navy blue band wrapping around it, a small, ornate golden mirror perched on the rim of the hat. 

How it stayed in place instead of falling off and shattering, I would never know. 

Said man turned to face me, his cape fluttering about as he moved, exposing its inner blue lining. “Ah, found you at last. Are you one of the new students?”

I suddenly felt the inexplicable urge to straighten my posture before responding to him. “Uh. N-“

He cut me off with a flippant wave of his hand, a frown etching itself on his mouth. “You shouldn’t do things like that, leaving the Gate on your own!” He crossed his arms as he looked at me through his mask. Despite most of his features being obscured, he somehow managed to convey a silent look of disappointment as he continued his lecture.

“Not only that, you have yet to tame your familiar, which has broken a number of school rules.”

If I listened closely, I could hear the faint sound of dial-up bouncing around in my empty skull as I tried to sort through all of the terminology that he threw at me. “I’m sorry, my wh-“

“Let me go!” Grim struggled against the cord that held him in place, kicking and thrashing around with all his might. Attention now on the writhing raccoon, I offhandedly noted that the flames in his ears flickered a dark blue, instead of the previous electric blue that I saw. “I’m not their freakin’ familiar!” 

His fur-flame changes colors based on his emotions? Well damn, poor guy’s never gonna have a good poker face if that’s the case. 

Waving Grim aside nonchalantly, the man nodded his head. “Sure, sure. The rebellious ones always say things like that.” Turning to face the trouble-making raccoon, the cord around Grim seemed to visibly tighten, as it coiled up around his mouth

“Ghh!” Grim’s pained whine only confirmed it. 

“Just quiet down for a moment, will you?.”

I winced in sympathy as I watched. “Ah, ouch. That’s gotta-...ow...” But my concern was shoved onto the back burner as my attention was drawn back to the man who was currently scolding me.

“My goodness, it’s unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own.” He sighed, placing his free hand on his hip as he shook his head in disbelief. “Ugh… how impatient can you be?” 

As if a switch was flipped, he suddenly brightened up, his yellow eyes crinkling into shining half crescents as a charismatic smile crossed his face. “The entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let’s head to the Hall of Mirrors now, shall we?”

Floods of unanswered questions swirled around in my mind, forcing me to physically and mentally pause for a couple of seconds to get them all sorted out. “The..-the what now?”

“It’s the room you woke up in with all of the doors.” A silent retort wormed its way into my head. Why isn’t it called the hall of doors then? It’s not even a hall, it’s a room! 

I managed to purse my lips together, holding back the response. Unaware, the man continued his explanation. “All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here. Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key but…” He vaguely gestured in my general direction. 

I nodded. I was an exception. I noticed. I jerked a thumb over at the still struggling, and the, fortunately, still trapped Grimm. “This one lit a fire outside my coffin and nearly roasted me alive inside it.”

The man let out a long-winded sigh as he placed his hand onto his forehead, shaking his head wearily. “So in the end, the culprit appears to be your familiar.”

I put my hands up in front of me as if I could somehow stop his words with an invisible barrier. “Woah, hold up. He isn’t-“

Placing his hand on his hip, a stern aura seemed to surround the man, cutting me off as he tutted.”No excuses young man! If you’re going to bring it with you, you have to take responsibility and properly take care of it!”

“I-wait. Young ma-“

“Oh my! Now isn’t the time to be long-winded.” Pulling a pocket watch from inside his cape, the man visibly cringed. He was surprisingly quite expressive, even with the mask hiding most of his features. “The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close.” Turning around, the man waved a hand, signaling me to follow him as he walked away. “Let’s get a move on.”

Before I could really think about it, I grabbed the back of his cape, pulling him back. “Nooooo—nonononono. I’m not following a stranger to god knows where, especially when I don’t even know where I am.”

I looked down and realized that I was grasping his cape, quickly letting it go with a murmured apology as I firmly glued my arms to my sides, hoping that it would prevent any further impulsive decisions. He turned back around to face me, waving my apology away with his free hand. “Don’t worry, I understand. You’re in a new environment.” He shifted his gaze to the ground, lowering his voice. “It appears the teleportation magic has left you disoriented.”

“...The… The teleporta-“

“Well, it’s fine.” The man shrugged it off carefreely. “It happens often enough.”

“I don’t think that’s a good thing-“

“I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there, for I am gracious!”

People here really have a problem of interrupting others, huh? Ignoring everything I ever learned about stranger danger, I shrugged and nodded my head. When in Rome, do as the Romans do! 

We walked out of the library and down the hallways in an awkward silence with a grumpy Grim, who had long since stopped struggling, in tow. It wasn’t until we reached the courtyard did the man dramatically clear his throat, gesturing theatrically around us before beginning his long-overdue expositional monologue. 

“This is Night Raven College. Magicians blessed with a unique aptitude for magic gather from all over the world to attend most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland.” Puffing his chest with pride, he placed a hand on his chest. “And I am the principal, appointed to take care of this academy by the board chairman, Dire Crowley.” 

In my head, I was struck with the image of a bird proudly ruffling its feathers. It was actually scary how uncanny it was.

Bird-like principals aside, I had _many_ problems with that explanation. Magicians? I felt a small spark of excitement at the thought, getting to see extraordinary people that performed the impossible with ease, but squashed it down. I couldn’t afford to get my hopes up. For all I knew, I could be on some strange, twisted lucid drug trip or something. Twisted Wonderland? At the very least, I was no longer in any notable city in America. 

However, the biggest bone I had to pick with his explanation was the fact that I was at a _college_. Nuh-uh. Nooooooooo~ sir. I did not get kidnapped by a cult, dragged through a mirror, run a marathon, and nearly get burned alive _twice_ , just to be told that I had to go to school. However, while I was still choking on the fact that I had to actually _learn_ stuff, Crowley took my silence as a sign to continue.

“Only magicians seen as worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school. Chosen ones use the Gate and are summoned here from around the world. An Ebony Carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well.”

Shoving all of my thoughts and worries down into the ‘I’ll think about this later’ jar, I shook my head, finally able to work up a response to Crowley’s expositional monologue. “Nope, no carriage. I just-“ 

I faded off. Should I tell him about the crumbling room? Glancing at the Headmaster out of the corner of my eye, he was patiently waiting for me to continue. All things considered, he’s been fairly reasonable and hospitable with me, but despite that, a small voice of distrust rang throughout my head. Maybe it was best to keep quiet about it. “-I just woke up after the coffin lid fell off.” Better safe than sorry.

“Hmm?” Crowley put a hand to his chin, rubbing it in deep thought as he turned his gaze skyward, absentmindedly gazing at the star-speckled night sky above us. “That is quite odd indeed, but there are some cases where students don’t remember a single thing, so worry not!”

We finally arrived at a familiar set of wooden double doors. Crowley straightened his top hat with his free hand, adjusting his cape with the other and accidentally yanking poor Grim, who was still wrapped in the whip’s cord, around. Paying no attention to the surprised yelp the floating raccoon let out, he looked over his shoulder at me, a calming smile on his face. “Come. Let us go to the entrance ceremony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back! From here on out, updates might be kinda slow, but I’m excited for the next chapter! Hopefully I can get that done fairly quickly so that y’all can read it!
> 
> Also, poor Grim.


	3. He’s on Fire! Someone Help Him!

Murmurs floated about, filling the idle air in the room with hushed voices. 

_“Why are we still here?”_

_“Where’s the Headmaster?”_

_“I thought there were seven dorm leaders…”_

The whispers grated on Riddle’s nerves. It was as if he was watching a student flagrantly break the Laws of the Queen of Hearts without a care in the world. If this kind of rabble was floating around in his dorm, he would have no problem offing the entire crowd’s heads. Letting out a small sigh of irritation, Riddle stepped forward. They had waited long enough. His presence alone immediately demanded the attention of everyone in the room, their eyes gravitating towards the copper haired prefect. The room quickly hushed as Riddle began to address the sea of newly indoctrinated students. “Is that all for the new student dorm assignments?”

There was no response, not like he had expected any either. Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No. 502. stated that _‘One must always be as thorough as possible in regards to attendance lists printed on sable colored paper.’_

His silver eyes scanned the room, meticulously picking out all of the first year students in his dorm as he crossed his arms, a stern frown pulling at his lips. “Listen up new students! Here in Heartslabyul, I am the rules. Break them...” 

He bowed his head, the shadows from his hood covering his face. His metallic eyes glowing eerily as he delivered his infamous catch phrase, a spine-chilling lilt to his voice.

_“and it’s off with your head.”_

Riddle let the threat hang in the air as he straightened back up, the crowd shifting around nervously under his intense gaze.

“Uuuugghh… The stuffy ceremony is finally over.” The tension immediately shattered as everyone turned to look at the male, grateful for some sort of distraction from the unnerving statement. 

Standing just to the left of Riddle was a catty brunette who looked ready to fall asleep then and there. Leona looked out at the audience before him, his sharp, slitted emerald eyes never really lingering on a single person. Who was in his dorm again? He shrugged, heaving a long-winded yawn. It didn’t really matter anyways, they would all follow him regardless. The tan male didn’t bother with threats or theatrics, waving his hand around absentmindedly as he stared at the crowd. “We’re going back to the dorm. Savanaclaws, follow me.”

The second Leona finished his curt welcome, if you could even call it that, Azul stepped forward, quickly grabbing the spotlight. He pushed his silver, thin rimmed glasses up as he schooled a seemingly warm and hospitable smile onto his face. “To the new students, congratulations on entering this academy. Enjoy your life here to the fullest!” 

Ever the embodiment of charisma, he daintily placed a hand on his chest, sweeping his arm out as he bowed towards the crowd in an incredibly rare display of modesty. Of course, if one were to look closely, they would see his vicious leer, hiding beneath the shadows of his hood. “As dormitory leader of Octavinelle, I will support you all to the best of my ability.”

Azul continued his lengthy speech about how he was willing to offer a hand and help out anyone at any time. All of the prefects present knew the truth that laid underneath his claims. His sweet, honeyed words covered a burnt, bitter truth. But to the new freshman? The naive, doe-eyed students? Azul might as well have been an angel sent by the gods themselves.

As Azul reached the end of his spiel, the prefect standing adjacent to him, Vil, rose a perfectly arched brow as he noted the time on a nearby clock. “By the way, where did the dean go? He flew out right in the middle of the ceremony…”

“Abandoning his post…” Idia murmured softly. Of course, everything he said or did was soft, or more accurately, quiet, in some way. Pouting, Kalim grabbed the floating tablet and leaned over, butting his way into the conversation. The action drew a small noise of protest from Idia, something about being careful with his devices.

“Yeah, yeah! Did he get a stomachache or something?”

————————————————-

At that exact moment, Crowley shoved open the double doors with a slam. “Not at all! I did not abandon my post, nor did I get a stomachache!” He loudly declared.

For a brief second, I could see the hooded heads of at least two hundred people before they all turned to face us in almost complete unison. Their eyes bore into us, staring at Crowley and I curiously as whispers were traded back and forth. The students were no doubt wondering what was going on. 

“Ah. He’s here.” I blinked in slight confusion, a small, perplexed smile crossing my lips as my gaze darted to the robed, red headed male who had made the offhand comment. Despite the distance between us, I could clearly see the utter surprise coloring his features. I sweatdropped as I looked back at the crowd of cloaked students, all of them with various shades of amusement painting their faces. They really didn’t take their Headmaster seriously, huh? 

Crowley dramatically grabbed his tie, a choked noise of disbelief escaping his lips. He curled his other hand into a fist as he practically started sob-shouting. “I cannot believe that my own students think so lowly of me that they would assume that I left for such a reason!!” It was an unexpected outburst, quite a loud one to boot. If anyone in the room wasn’t looking at us before, they definitely were now.

“Pfft…” I covered my mouth, hiding the wide grin plastered on my face as I turned around, trying my best to stifle the raucous laughter that was threatening to spill out. I had a feeling that I was going to be in for a long, amusing haul.

Crowley straightened his tie, clearing his throat as he turned back around to face me, his dramatic outburst seemingly disappearing into thin air as he got back down to business. I quickly sobered up, trying my best to wipe all traces of the grin off my face as I forced my expression into a blank slate. It worked for about half a second before a tiny smile cracked through my stone-faced facade, a small peal of laughter following suit.

Crowley turned back to face the sea of students, more specifically, the five that stood closest to the mirror. Standing on my tiptoes, I could see a floating tablet amongst the five. What was that? How did it float? I let out a small whistle of appreciation at its sleek design, causing a couple students to glance at me weirdly. I couldn’t help it. It was quite interesting to see that technology was more advanced in this world. I wonder what else is different?

“I cannot believe you all.” Hands on his hips, Crowley had activated Stern Principal ModeTM. I glanced off to the side, a quiet smile on my face. Legend has it that when he activated it, nothing could distract him from doling out the incoming lecture. “We were missing one new student, so I went to find them! You are all dorm leaders. I expected better from you.”

Ah, that’s why they stood separately from the mass of students in the room. Crowley began to make his way to the mirror, the sea of students hastily parting to accommodate him. I followed in his footsteps, trying to ignore the gossiping murmurs floating through the air. Taking it in stride, I straightened my posture, lifting my chin to stare straight ahead at Crowley’s back. I wasn’t going to cower in fear at a couple of trash talking children who had nothing better to do with their time. 

Once we arrived, Crowley stood to the left of the platform, holding out his hand for me to grasp like a footman waiting outside a princess’ carriage. “You are the only one yet to be assigned a dormitory.” Taking his hand, he helped me step up onto the platform. “I shall watch over your raccoon for you. Please step in front of the Dark Mirror.”

I could practically see the fire lighting up inside Grim’s eyes at the raccoon comment. Without missing a beat, he started kicking and thrashing around again, spewing out muffled retorts that were no doubt about how he was “Not a raccoon, but the Great Grim!”

Walking up the rest of the three-tiered platform, I stood in front of the floating mirror. This time staring back at me, wasn’t my reflection, but a mask. More specifically, one the sad theatre masks that you’d see on stage. It seemed to be a pure white, but it was tinged by the brilliant green flames swirling around it, so I couldn’t tell if it was a beige, or some other off-white color. Black, lace-like decal swirled around its eyes and the bridge of its nose, forming a masquerade mask-like pattern across its face. It studied me for a moment, before it began to speak, causing the atmosphere of the room to shift immediately as everyone turned their attention towards us.

“State thy name.”

I stared back for a moment, feeling the tension and curiosity in the room hit an all time high. Slowly, I carded a hand through my hair, dragging down the hood that covered my face as I uttered my name for the world to hear. 

“Evangeline. Evangeline Liaz. It’s a pleasure.”

Gasps and exclamations of surprise exploded throughout the room. Like fire, whispers sparked up, quickly spreading around until everyone was loudly chattering amongst each other. Crowley waved his arms about, shaking poor Grim to and fro as he tried to quiet the rambunctious crowd down. “Everyone, quiet down! Quiet down this instant!” It half worked. Most of the crowd fell silent in fear of being on the receiving end of the Headmaster’s rage, but a few brave, or stupid, souls continued to mutter amongst themselves. 

I raised a brow at the sudden outburst from the crowd, a quizzical frown splaying across my features. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

Crowley shook his head, visibly just as confused as I was. He looked at the mirror for an uncomfortably long period of time, as if it would suddenly up and rescind its statement if he stared hard enough. “No, no.. it’s just-”

“Hmph.” One of the dorm leaders, a male with silvery blue hair, walked up, observing the mirror for a brief second, before turning his gaze onto me. It felt cold.

Calculating.

Appraising. 

I felt _objectified_ , like I was nothing more than just a tool that he was examining. Like he was trying to see just how far he could use and bend me before I shattered into a million pieces. 

Despite that, I refused to back down. I stared at him dead in the eye, silently daring him to say anything. He was the first to break the stare-down, a small, pleasant smile breaking through as his previous demeanor disappeared in a blink of an eye. “Incredible...the Ebony Carriages have never picked up a female before.”

Putting aside his disconcerting demeanor, I tilted my head, blinking a couple times as I raised a curious brow. Are females not gifted with magic in this world? Why would there be no females at this college? Glancing back at the crowd of students, I carefully scanned their hooded faces. It was a bit difficult considering that the shadows from their hoods covered most of their features, but the ones that I could confirm were definitely male.

“Ah, she’s a darling one, isn’t she Azul? But isn’t this against the rules?” Another male piped in. Glancing over to my right, I felt my jaw drop. He was gorgeously stunning, his blonde hair, dyed a soft violet at the tips, framed his face perfectly. The royal purple eyeshadow he had dusted across his eyelids accentuated his lilac eyes, subtly sparkling in the light as he blinked. Now that I was thinking about it, Azul also wore eyeshadow. It was a deep wine purple, dusted ever so slightly on the bottom corners of his eyes. 

I blinked, realizing that I was practically gaping at the blonde while I was lost in my thoughts. He caught my gaze, a bemused smile lighting up his face as he tilted his head. I forcibly closed my mouth, averting my burning gaze to the ground. Nope, nope. None of that. Not today.

“Incorrect. Despite Night Raven College being an all boys school, there’s nothing that states that she can’t be admitted.” It was the red-headed dorm leader that first spoke when Crowley arrived. I noted with mild amusement that the little strands of hair that sat on his head rested in a way that formed a heart shape. Did he style it that way, or was it naturally like that? Either way, it was quite endearing.

At this point, there was quite a large crowd forming around the pedestal, their gazes trained on me like I was a display at a zoo. It wasn’t crowded enough to overwhelm me, but it was certainly getting quite uncomfortable. As if picking up on my distress, the mirror began to continue its assessment of me, forcing everyone to fall silent as their attention was wrenched back to the floating mirror.

“The shape of thy soul is…”

It trailed off, eyes visibly widening before its face completely crumpled into a sour frown.

“I do not know.”

The room grinded to a screeching halt. I could feel a hundred stares on my back once more, like needles pricking into my skin. Crowley, who looked like he was about to have an aneurysm, crossed his arms, staring at the mirror in disbelief. “Come again?”

Its face returned to the default blank expression as it elaborated.

“I sense powerful magic in this one. Pure, and untapped, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The colors and shapes are ever changing, ever growing.”

The brilliant emerald flames around it seemed to lengthen, flickering around faster, as if the fire itself was confused.

“With so much magic, yet no stability or control, they are suited for no dormitory.”

I stared down at my hand, trying to visualize the ‘magic’ that the mirror spoke of. There was nothing there at all. No sparkles, no glowing light, nothing. I pursed my lips together. The mirror’s statement matched everything I’d ever heard in my life, in this world and my own. Even in another world, I had potential, it was just a shame I couldn’t use it. So much potential to do good, to do bad, to do _anything_ , yet I couldn’t use it. It made sense that even in another world, I’d be the exact same.

It was a shame. 

The room remained silent for a couple more moments, the information visibly processing in everyone’s mind. Looking over at Crowley, I quieted my ever growing anxiety as I pasted a cool, collected expression across my face. I cleared my throat, catching the man’s attention. “Soo.. I don’t suppose there’s a reroll button anywhere? A retry? Anything?”

Crowley shook his head, the poor man looking like he aged fifteen years within the past fifteen seconds as he looked towards the mirror, visibly exhausted at this point. “No, unfortunately, there is no retry... I can’t believe this.” He placed a hand on his forehead as he looked up at the ceiling, dumbfounded.

As the Headmaster was distracted, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Grim had begun kicking up a storm again, a waterfall of muffled words pouring out of his mouth. “Mgh! Mmph…..! Pah!”

Oh, that couldn’t be good. He spit out the coils wrapping around his mouth, and soon after, the rest of his body wriggled free from the restraints. “Then I’ll take their place!” He zipped over to the pedestal, shoving me off as he turned to face the audience of students in front of him. 

I landed on my back, thankfully unscathed from my fall to the stone floor. It knocked the wind out of me, but that was about the extent of my injuries. “Aghh.. that.. hurt less than I thought it would?” 

Wait a minute. I felt my entire body stiffen up as something wiggled about underneath me. Quickly leaping back onto my feet, I turned around, and to my mortification, discovered that my fall had been cushioned by a tan male with short, choppy white hair. 

Letting out a choked noise of concern, I quickly knelt down, offering my hand to the dazed boy. “Holy crap, I’m so sorry! Are you ok? Did you hurt your head? Your back? I’m so sor-“

He slowly opened his eyes, and I froze mid-sentence, absolutely captivated by them. I had expected some thunderous shade of gray, maybe a mahogany brown, or a midnight black, but instead, they were a bright, beautiful fiery red. 

They were like deep crimson apples, dappled with morning dew that shone in the sunlight. Hmm..that didn’t fit. They were like bright, perfect red rubies that sparkled in the light, indescribably beautiful and breathtakingly ethereal. No, that wasn’t quite right either. 

They were... enchanting. Plain and simple. 

He grinned up at me, a bright, mischievous smile, and grabbed my hand, hoisting himself up. “It’s alrig-“

“Everyone, DUCK!!”

I was half-tempted to shout ‘Where?!’, but the childish urge was immediately overridden as I dragged the boy down, shielding him as both of us crouched down on the ground. I could hear Grim spewing fire out of his mouth, surrounding the room with waves of fire and thick plumes of smoke as the student body started to panic. 

Horrified screams of terror rang through the room as the sea of students flew into a mass hysteria. Some ran for the doors, while others stayed crouched, causing a great stampede as students tripped and fell over one another. The teachers present were beside themselves with stress, simultaneously trying to calm the students down and put out the raging fires.

I could’ve sworn that I heard someone cackling their head off somewhere amongst the chaos. It was probably Grim.

The boy who crouched next to me must’ve had really bad luck, because despite covering himself, hands over his head, a couple moments after Grim’s initial fire attack, he sprang up screaming, “Waaaahhh! Hotttttt! Hot, hot hoootttt! My butt’s on fire!”

Wait, what? Looking at his butt, (Not in that way, get your mind out of the gutters people.) it was indeed on fire. 

My mind flew into a frenzy, the mayhem and screaming in the background not helping me in the slightest. I couldn’t pat it out for obvious reasons, nor did I have anything useful on hand. 

I looked around, trying to spot a fire extinguisher, a hose, a bottle of water, anything that would help. Amongst the chaotic shouts and hollers, I could see Crowley address five of the dorm leaders, the sixth one currently trying not to get burned alive. The masked man was visibly upset, quite understandable considering that the school was going to be engulfed in a sea of flames, as he shouted something to them.

Continuing to look around, I realized that Grim had zipped out of the room, flying out into one of the many hallways. Two of the prefects that Crowley had gathered, Azul, and the one with coppery red hair ran after him, leaving the room with a thunderous slam as the doors closed shut.

Now that there was no longer a cat flying about and spewing fire around, the flames began to slowly dim down. The teachers began to put out the lingering fires as the room calmed down, the initial panic having dissipated. Students began to regroup with each other, taking those who were injured elsewhere, assumably to the infirmary. I let out a sigh of relief as I felt myself relax. Thank god that was over with. 

“Umm, hey! Could someone help put out my butt fire already?!” 

Ah, right. He’s still on fire. 

Wait a minute.

That’s not a good thing. 

“Agh! I-uhm!” I panicked, an electric surge of fear shooting through my veins, before common sense practically slapped me in the face. “Quick! Stop, drop and roll!” 

The male fell to the floor, rolling around, desperately trying to put out the flames. After two or three rolls, the flames were quickly snuffed out. I extended a hand to the boy, feeling a small spark of deja vu as I helped him up to his feet again. He dusted himself off, a sigh of relief escaping his lips as he shot me a bright, innocent smile. “Thanks! You saved me there… Evelyn?”

I stared at him in surprise for a moment. Was I staring at the Sun? Why was he so bright? I was half tempted to shield my eyes from the sheer brilliance that emanated from him. Another moment passed by before a chuckle left my throat, a soft smile crossing my face in response to his. “Evangeline, but Eve works.” I reached up, adjusting his crooked purple half-turban to sit properly on his unruly white hair. “And you are?”

His smile faded ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth just barely dropping as he stared at me, his ruby red eyes seemingly scanning my face for something, for some sort of tell. Regardless of whether he found it or not, his smile returned ten-fold, a precious, sunny thing that melted my heart. “Kalim Al-Asim, a pleasure to meet you!”

He was so adorable and innocent, like a child. I wanted to ruffle his hair, but through sheer willpower, I managed to restrain myself. I’d rather not embarrass myself in front of someone who was practically a stranger to me. Maybe someday. Maybe someday.

“Oh, would you mind turning around?” Kalim tilted his head quizzically, but did as I asked. I examined the burnt back part of the robe. Luckily for him, it seemed that only the robe was burnt. The pants he wore underneath were blackened, but it seemed that it hadn’t burnt through yet. “It looks good enough. Mostly the robe was burnt, but I’d get it checked out just in case.”

Despite literally being on fire just a moment ago, he turned around and childishly grinned, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “If you wanted to check me out, you could’ve just asked.”

I froze, my mind completely blanking as it slowly processed what just came out of his mouth.

Oh.

_Oh no._

He can flirt.

A small snort slipped past my lips as an amused grin painted my face. “Smooth. Very smooth Al-Asim.” 

I threw any and all reservations I had out the window and took the opportunity to ruffle his hair, purposely messing up the purple half-turban that I had just fixed. Turning around, I began to walk away, stopping momentarily to throw a sly, “Your robe’s still smoldering!” over my shoulder. His eyes widened comedically as he began to circle around, like a dog trying to bite its tail as he patted out the ‘cinders’ on his robe. 

A small, adoring grin pulled at my lips. 

He was so precious.

**————————————————-**

**Students: Where is Headmaster?**

**Crowley: I am here!**

**Eve: So am I!**

**Crowley: Get sorted into your house- I mean dorm.**

**Eve: Surprise, I’m a girl!**

**Everyone: *shocked Pikachu face***

**Grim: *casually commits arson***

**Eve: That just happened.**

**Kalim: *exists***

**Eve: *gasp* he babie.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I love Kalim? Who gave him the right to be babie?? He deserves all the love in the world.
> 
> Also, “The Laws of the Queen of Hearts”. I know they’ve stated a couple of the rules, but I don’t remember if they’ve used 502 yet. Oh well. 
> 
> Also, also. Sable looks like literally any other shade of black. Look up “shades of black” and go to images. Tell me that they don’t all look exactly the same.


	4. Crowley Scares Me Sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW: Emotional Shutdown. Verbal Abuse? I’m not sure, but I’m gonna leave it here just in case.**

The doors slammed open once more, revealing the two prefects as they hauled a squirming Grim along with them. Around the floating raccoon-cat’s neck was what appeared to be a heart shaped choker, flared out like one of those ruffled Victorian collars. 

I was absolutely horrified, a choked noise of disbelief escaping me. Why would they bring Grim in here without muzzling him or something?! There was no way he was just going to sit idle and accept his newly collared fate. He seemed to have the same idea as me, angrily writhing out of Azul’s grasp before throwing his arms open in that oh-so familiar gesture. I instinctively hissed in a breath, recoiling back as I prepared myself for another round of fiery destruction, but it never came. 

Azul chuckled at Grim’s failed attempt, a smug smile on his face. “Ah, your Unique Magic never fails to amaze me Riddle! Any and all magic gets sealed away.” His expression darkened sinisterly as his smile steadily turned into a disturbing leer. “I want it…”

The coppery haired prefect, Riddle, shot him a mildly perturbed glance. “Not on me, of course.” Azul quickly amended.

I tilted my head, raising a brow as I glanced between the two. “Unique magic?”

Riddle nodded, gesturing to Grim, who growled back as he tried to bite the prefect’s hand. “Unique Magic is, as the name implies, magic that is unique to an individual. Like Azul said, my Unique Magic, ‘ **Off With Your Head** ’, seals away any and all magic that someone has-.” He winced in pain as Grim successfully managed to bite one of his fingers. “Hck! You- _you cat!_ ”

Riddle turned a furious red so bright, it almost matched his hair. I could see him visibly try to restrain himself, and if I had to guess, he was just about ready to start spewing curses at the smug Grim snickering in front of us. Why did he restrain himself? Did he have some sort of image to maintain? Well, I guess screaming at cats did damage one’s reputation quite easily, even if they did char a good chunk of a room.

Nevertheless, I felt the stress slowly seep away as I allowed myself a small chuckle at the pair’s antics. It was strange to find solace in such a thing, no denying that, but Grim was caught, the college was no longer on fire, and I could finally relax a bit and try to process everything that just occured. 

Just kidding! The universe was determined to screw me over at every opportunity. Pounding footsteps made their way over to us, the clacking of dress shoes on stone echoing loudly across the room. I unconsciously tensed up once more, barely turning around before my gaze was filled with black and white, the voice of an infuriated Headmaster ringing in my ears. “Miss Liaz!! You must do something about this! All of this damage was caused by _your_ familiar! ”

I raised both my hands up in a placating manner, a bead of sweat slipping down the nape of my neck. “Wait, hold o-“

“You brought him here, look at all of the trouble that he’s caused!!”

“I didn’t-“

“Honestly, how does a familiar get this unstable?”

“He’s not my familiar-“

“ ** _Do not talk back to me!_** ” Crowley roared. The room was now dead silent as everyone watched with bated breath. Across the crowd there were murmurs of pity, and sympathy, but there were just as many whispers of indifference, whispers that I deserved whatever was coming.

Despite my best efforts to stay calm, I instinctively flinched away from Crowley, my posture going rigid. The words sent a jolt of fear through me, like the one I felt when I nearly fell into the endless void. I hated it. It was suffocating me. _It was drowning me_. 

Why? 

Was it because he was an adult? Was it the yelling? Was it the sudden snap? Why did I feel this devastatingly overwhelming sense of fear?

He snatched Grim from the air, practically throwing the poor cat at me. I managed to snap out of my panic, barely reacting in time as I fumbled around a bit before securing my hold on the disoriented feline. Without really thinking about it, I tightened my hold on him like a child grasping their stuffed animal as I shrunk away from the fuming man. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I didn’t want to listen to him. I didn’t want someone yelling at me for something that wasn’t even my fault.

“He is _your_ responsibility!” Crowley continued. “A familiar takes a great deal of training and discipline to manage, but based on his behavior, you’ve obviously neglected him! In all my years I-“

“Stop yelling at me.” With a simple sentence, I shut down, going into auto-pilot as all my emotions were stowed away, replaced by a blank slate. I didn’t fight it. I didn’t want to feel anything right now. I knew that if I tried to speak, tried to defend myself in any way, I would burst into an endless waterfall of tears. So I let my emotions shut off, pushing Crowley out of my personal space before continuing. “When you start assigning blame, get the facts first. Grim isn’t mine. I don’t know him.”

Despite being able to form a coherent response to counter Crowley’s accusations, whatever auto-pilot program I had on felt strange, like I was a spectator in my own body. Words flowed out of my mouth as my body reacted on pure instinct, trying to shut down the source of conflict as quickly as possible without any tact or thought behind it.

Nevertheless, I continued, a blank expression on my face. “I understand why you might think that, seeing as you first found him with me, but if you had bothered to listen at any point, you would’ve heard me say that he is _not_ my familiar.”

Crowley froze, obviously not expecting the sudden, concise rebuttals from me. “A-ah. You did?”

“Yes. I did. Multiple times.” Ah, there it was. My sprinkle of trademark sass. Once it slipped through, I felt the auto-pilot begin to drain itself from me as I slowly regained control of my body again. I wasn’t quite sure what landmine Crowley stepped on that triggered that response from me, but regardless of what he did, I didn’t want to experience it again.

He awkwardly cleared his throat, his eyes darting around the room before it settled on the cat in my arms. “A-Anyways, let’s get you out of the school.” He put a clawed finger underneath Grim’s chin, tilting his head up to face him as his yellow eyes glared into the cat. “Count your lucky stars that we won’t turn you into a stew...for I am a gracious headmaster.”

With Grim’s head tilted up, his electric blue eyes flicked up to mine and in that brief moment, I could tell that the same thought flashed through our minds. 

_He’s scary..._

Crowley gently pried the cat from my grasp, not wanting to provoke me any further. I could see Grim tense as soon as the man’s fingers grazed him. He immediately began to thrash around, digging his claws into the man’s arm. “Gyaaa! Let me go! Let me go!”

Crowley didn’t flinch, keeping his face straight as an arrow as he walked towards the doors, escorting the writhing cat out. Grim was visibly distressed at this point, throwing himself this way and that as he tried to escape from the Headmaster's vice-like grip. “I swear, I’m going to, going to… become the greatest magician!! No matter what it-” The doors closed with a thud, cutting off whatever he might’ve said next.

I frowned, a small crease forming on my brows as his last words echoed in my head. It was a desperate promise, a declaration filled with hopes and dreams that were on the verge of turning to dust. Despite all the trouble Grim had caused, for both me and everyone else, I couldn’t help but feel a small pang of sympathy for him. Having ambitions and doing everything in your power to achieve them was an admirable thing, but at some point, there was a line that had to be drawn in the sand. Nearly burning down a college was faaaar past it. 

“Hmph, it looks like the kitten has claws.”

The new voice behind me snapped me out of my thoughts, nearly making me jump out of my skin. When had they approached me? I didn’t hear any footsteps behind me at all.

I felt my lips twitch downward. The bigger question, who calls someone they just met a ‘kitten’? A fake, perky smile pasted itself onto my face and without missing a beat, I swirled around, clasping my hands together in front of me as I tilted my head, beaming brightly. “She has fangs too! Would you like to see?”

Now that I was turned around, I almost leapt back as I realized I was face to face, nearly brushing noses with him. However, I didn’t flinch, keeping the fake smile on as I glared daggers at him beneath my hooded eyes. He studied me silently, his narrow emerald eyes raking up and down my figure. The way he looked at me was similar to Azul’s stare, but at the same time completely different. I was no longer a tool to use and discard, but a gazelle, prancing about in the woods, and he was the predator, the lion that was ready to pounce and sink his fangs into me. 

I steeled my nerves and internally let out a scoff, readily matching his gaze. Azul didn’t scare me, and by god I wasn’t going to let this overgrown cat scare me either. A couple moments passed in a tense silence before he raised an eyebrow, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “You’ve got guts. For an herbivore.”

Before I could respond with an equally sarcastic remark, a smooth voice rang out to my right. “Careful now Leona, you wouldn’t want scare her off now would you?” A hand grabbed my jaw and turned my face towards them, tilting it this way as they examined me. 

“Eh?! Hey, woaaahh, hands off buddy!” I glared at the culprit, squinting slightly due to the dim lighting in the room. It was the pretty blonde with lilac eyes. “Not bad.. you do have good bone structure...and a symmetrical face…you could use quite a bit of makeup though.. mascara, maybe some lip gloss, and we’re on our way.” 

I blinked once, my brows drawing together as a small frown crossed my lips. “I-...okay? Thank you?” 

He frowned, gesturing to my hair with an elegant wave of his hand. “I will say though, your hair is atrocious. Absolutely horrific. It’s somehow messier than this wreck of a room!” 

The boy started prattling on about all of the other hair products that would help detangle my hair, and I gradually zoned out of the one-sided conversation. Beauty wasn’t high on my list of interests. In the background, Leona had drifted off into a different conversation. Well, more accurately, he seemed to be dragged into another conversation. Kalim was chattering on about throwing a party while Leona stood idly, his eyebrow visibly twitching every now and then as he glanced off to the side, his irritation as clear as day. 

“Vil, unhand her. It’s unbecoming of a prefect to handle a lady in such a way.” It was Riddle. He stood off to Vil’s side, a disapproving frown on his face. I sent him a ‘Please help me, this strangely pretty man is grabbing my face and I don’t know what to do’ look. As specific as it was, Riddle seemed to get the general gist that I was distressed as he pried Vil”s hand off of my face. “Are you okay?”

Vil huffed, somehow making the simple action seem regal as he crossed his arms, propping his head up on a perfectly manicured hand. “You make it sound like I was harassing her.”

The copper haired prefect raised an eyebrow at Vil.“You were.” 

“I was not!” The mauve eyed male turned to face me, a sour frown on his face. “Tell him darling! It was no trouble for you at all, right?”

I nearly choked on my tongue as I looked between them. “I-uhm.. uh-“ 

The two of them stared at me, an expectant look on their faces. Thank god for miracles, because my saving grace came in the form of Crowley as he emerged through the grand pair of doors, dusting his clawed hands off as he closed them. He turned to face the crowd of students, so tired that he didn’t even bother with theatrics as he rubbed the temples of his forehead. “Well, we had a bit of trouble along the way, but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close.”

He turned to look at the prefects, most of which were conveniently standing next to, or within proximity to me. “Dormitory Leaders, please show the new students back to their respective dormitories.”

“Hm? Now that I think about it, I don’t see the leader of Diasomnia, Mr. Draconia, around at all..” Crowley scanned the room again, his yellow eyes sweeping the crowd, but this “Draconia” student was apparently nowhere to be found.

Leona raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on his hips. “That’s no different from the usual, isn’t it?”

“Hmm?” Kalim looked between the prefects standing near us, a confused frown on his face. “Did nobody tell him about the ceremony?” 

Vil rolled his eyes, his heels clicking against each other as he turned to face the red-eyed boy. “If you’re going to complain, you should have done it yourself.”

“Ehhh.. but I don’t really know anything about that guy…” He trailed off, pouting as he fiddled with the cuffs on his robe. 

I turned my attention to the mass of students that were still in the room. Murmurs flooded through the room once more as various questions spread leapt about here and there.

“By Draconia… Do they mean _that_ Malleus Draconia?”

“Is he seriously attending this school?”

“That’s scary…”

I let out a small whistle. Whoever this Draconia person was, they seemed to be famous around the college, and not in a good way. Next to me, a student sighed, a small frown tugging at their lips. “It seems I was correct. I thought he might come, but Malleus really didn’t.”

He had shoulder length, raven black hair with neon pink-purple streaks running through them. It choppily framed his large, blood-red eyes that were dusted with the slightest hint of green eyeshadow. I was half tempted to grab his hand and check for a pulse, because he was noticeably pale, to the point where it was a bit concerning. 

He crossed his arms, sending a dirty look towards the prefects standing around me. “It seems the invitation ‘never arrived’ again.”

Azul immediately caught onto the underlying jab as he turned to face the student, a regretful frown on his face. “My deepest apologies. I promise, we didn’t intend to exclude Mr. Draconia.”

Riddle nodded, adding on to Azul’s statement as he crossed his arms, looking off to the side of the room. “His aura makes it hard to approach him.”

The student sighed, shaking his head. “It’s fine. Members of the Diasomnia Dormitory can come with me!” He flicked his hood over his head “I hope this doesn’t upset him.” He murmured.

Now that most of the crowd had fallen silent, Kalim meandered over, casually throwing his arms over Riddle’s shoulders and drawing an indignant splutter from the redhead as he leaned onto him. “Actually...who’s dorm will Eve stay at?”

It was a simple question, one that probably should have been asked earlier when the mirror declared me unfit for any dorm, but it triggered a waterfall of responses, from both the dorm leaders and the students. 

“An herbivore can’t stay in Savanaclaw, she’d get eaten alive.”

“Fufufu~ by you.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Eve can stay in Scarabia! We’re throwing a welcome party tonight!”

“Wouldn’t she be overwhelmed by all the excitement?”

“She’d be a half-decent addition to Pomefiore, but we’d have to work on her appearance…”

“She’s not a doll for you to play dress-up with Vil!” 

“Since it isn’t against the rules, Heartslabyul would welcome her.”

I put both my hands up in front of me, palms facing the crowd of students surrounding me as a strained smile crossed my face. “Thank you for the invitations but uhm.... isn’t this an all-boys school? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not…” I gestured vaguely to myself, not quite sure how to phrase the statement.

Despite that, understanding seemed to dawn on everyone’s face at the same time. Their reactions however, were wildly different. Some, like Riddle, immediately flushed a bright scarlet red as they realized what I meant, covering their faces with their hoods or turning away. Others, like Leona, Azul, and Vil, seemed undisturbed, but they backed off nonetheless. Then there was Kalim. Apparently he saw nothing wrong with what I said as he stared at me quizzically, a small frown on his face as he tried to figure out the underlying meaning to my words. 

Crowley walked over to the horde of students, shooing them off as he looked at the prefects. “Do not fret, I’ll take care of Miss Liaz. For now, please just take the first years to their dorms.”

Riddle was the first to leave, all traces of his flushed face completely gone as he cleared his throat, uttering a loud, “Heartslabyul, follow me!”

The other dorm leaders followed his lead, calling out for the students in their dorm before leaving the room in an orderly fashion, until eventually, it was just Crowley and I in the room. 

“...”

“...”

It was awkward. Good god, it was so uncomfortable that I was half tempted to up and follow the nearest crowd of students just to leave the masked man. I was willing to stay in any dorm at this point. Hell, I would rather sleep outside just to skip the discussion and leave.

“Miss Liaz… I apologize for my accusations. I should have listened to you earlier.” He had the decency to look at me in the face as he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he bowed his head. His apology seemed to be genuine too, not like one of those half-assed apologies people use when they’re backed into a corner. 

I nodded, a hesitant smile on my face. “It’s alright, I understand why you thought the Grim was with me. Just please get the facts first before assuming things.” If Crowley was actually sorry for his actions, then I saw no reason why I shouldn’t forgive him. It benefits no one to hold a grudge.

Crowley paused momentarily before a slow, tentative smile spread across his face. “I- ...Thank you Miss Liaz.” Did he expect me to hold it against him or something? I frowned softly, my brows furrowing as I stared at the man sympathetically. If that was his mentality for everything, even small mistakes, I couldn’t even imagine the self-guilt he carried for a mistake like this. 

He cleared his throat, dragging me out of my thoughts and breaking the moment. He dropped his smile in exchange for a serious expression as he got back down to business. “Now moving on to the matter of your dorm-“

I coughed, glancing off the side as I covered my mouth with the back of my hand. “Uh-Not to interrupt, but we have bigger matters to discuss than which dorm I’ll be staying in.” 

The magic mirror had declared that I had magic in me. Even if by some ludicrous chance I truly did have magic, I didn’t even know the basics of how to use it. That was already a problem, but the fact that I was attending a school that only taught the best magicians multiplied the trouble tenfold. I couldn’t exactly keep it under wraps without raising suspicion, so it was now or never. 

“I... don’t know how to use magic.”

If someone could die from shock, Crowley would’ve spontaneously combusted into flames and dropped dead right then and there. I could feel the poor man’s blood pressure rise from where I stood, no medical tools or examination necessary. While Crowley was gaping at me, and possibly suffering a stroke, I continued, forcing out an awkward laugh in a futile attempt to break the stifling tension. 

“Going to my next point… and stay with me here.” I gestured vaguely around us with a wave of my hand. “I’m not from here. I’m not quite sure what country or continent we’re in, but I don’t live here.” 

I tugged on a strand of hair absentmindedly as I lowered my gaze to the ground. “Or know how to get home…” I murmured softly. Based on the way Crowley wrung his hands together, I could tell that he heard me loud and clear.

Crowley stared at me intently, almost to the point where it bordered on a glare. His lips were pressed into a grimace that grew as the seconds ticked by. No words were exchanged as the silence stretched on for a second. For two. For three. 

Eventually, Crowley let out a long-winded sigh as he raked a hand down his face in exhaustion, somehow not disturbing the mask on his face. “In any other case, I would ask if I heard you right, but today has just been filled with so many impossible events that I’m inclined to believe you.”

He turned around to the doors, walking over and prodding it open with his cane as he looked over his shoulder at me. “Shall we go discuss this elsewhere?”

**————————————————-**

**Azul and Riddle: We caught the rat.**

**Crowley: *yells at Eve***

**Eve: But you’re wrong.**

**Leona: *staring contest***

**Vil: Heathers**

**Riddle: No touchy, bad touch.**

**Crowley: Where’s Waldo?**

**Kalim: Where’s Eve gonna stay?**

**Eve: I’ll talk to Crowley about it.**

**(Awkward silence)**

**Crowley: I’m sorry.**

**Eve: It’s ok, now here are all my problems**

**Crowley: Good god.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Chapter Title: Crowley’s Gonna Have A Stroke Someday.
> 
> Dang, I don’t know why, but this chapter was a doozy to write. I’m probably gonna go back to this one at some point and edit it again.
> 
> [Me While Writing This Chapter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1o3koTLWM)


	5. For Science!

We left the Hall of Mirrors, the doors creaking loudly as they closed. No doubt they’d need their hinges oiled after how many times they were slammed open and closed today. I sent them a mental apology as Crowley led me down a familiar stone hallway, a comfortable silence between us.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I was tired or just simply hallucinating, but the paintings on the walls seemed to watch our every move. Even as we made a left at a corner and disappeared from their view, I felt like they were still somehow watching us. They were like those weeping angel statues. I’d feel them staring us down, but as soon as I turned around, they’d go back to normal. It was mildly unnerving to say the least. 

The disconcerting feeling was quickly washed away as cricket chirps welcomed us into the courtyard, their trilling symphony a familiar tune to my ears. I smiled. It was a beautiful night.

The wind rustled the leaves in the apple trees, putting the bright red fruits on display as we passed by them. I had half a mind to hop up onto a nearby bench to see if I could grab an apple, but instead, I shook my head and shoved the childish urge away. I glanced longingly at the fruits before I strode past them, keeping pace with Crowley. This was easier said than done because the man was _tall_. His long legs strode with ease as we walked into another hallway, the lanterns illuminating our path with their emerald green flames. I scurried after him, two of my steps barely matching one of his. Curse my shortness.

After countless twists and turns, we made our way to the end of the hallway. Walking through the wooden archway, I was greeted by the familiar library. I let out a small whistle as I looked around. The scorch marks from earlier had somehow disappeared. Impressive. Whoever was on cleanup duty knew what they were doing.

Crowley grabbed a pen-like object from somewhere in his vest and tilted it to the side. The gem that was attached to the tip began to glow a deep navy blue as a rustle echoed from one of the many bookshelves. Moments later, a map quickly flew out with a whoosh, swirling around in the air a couple times before it slowly drifted down onto a nearby table. 

Crowley made his way over to the table, gently pushing the floating books out of the way as he leaned over the wooden surface, examining the map closely. “Now, where exactly did you come from?”

I snorted, a sarcastic smile crossing my face as I splayed both of my hands out in an overly cheery gesture. “I’m from the land of credit cards and endless debt!”

Crowley gave me an unamused stare, his silent reception colder than the arctic. Even the floating books around us seemed to stop bobbing, as if they too were cringing at the joke. I cleared my throat, laughing awkwardly as I rubbed the back of my neck. “No? Okay, I’m from America.”

“America?” The masked man looked down at the map, his yellow gaze flicking around the paper. “I do not know where that is.”

“I have a general grasp of where all the students come from, but I’ve never even heard that name before…” He continued to examine the map as I shuffled around in place, antsily waiting for his conclusion. Crowley seemed to notice my fidgeting as he waved a dismissive hand at me, his eyes still fixed on the map. 

I perked up, taking that as my sign to explore the library. Looking around, the shelves were all marked with Roman Numerals instead of genres. Ah, that makes finding specific books slightly harder, but it was a challenge I was willing to face. I had barely taken a step before Crowley let out a frustrated sigh from behind me. 

Turning back around, my eyes turned into saucers as I felt a choked noise of surprise escape me. The man was surrounded by stacks and stacks of books. In the span of under twenty seconds, he had amassed at least a hundred books without making a single sound. “There really isn’t anything..! Not only on the world map, but this ‘America’ isn’t written anywhere in history.”

He read through them too?? Did he glance at the summaries or did he actually read through all of them?! As I stood there in shock, trying to comprehend how he had managed to get through that many books, Crowley narrowed his eyes at me as he pointed his pen in my direction. “Are you truly from America? You aren’t lying to me by any chance?”

I sighed, a half-smile crossing my lips. “I wish. That would mean I knew what was going on.”

He seemed to believe me as he looked back down to the map on the table “Looking at all of this.” He gestured with a flippant wave of his hand to the map and stacks of books around him. “You may have somehow been brought here from another planet. There’s also the possibility that you’re from another world.”

I brightened up, a small gasp leaving me as I hopped around in place. “Like, space travel? Are we talking worm holes? Or maybe universe hopping?”

Oh, this was great! Well, not the part where I was taken out of my own world without any knowledge or consent, but the fact that I was no longer in my world! Not that life back in my world wasn’t good or anything. It was alright, but knowing that I had traveled through space and time sparked my excitement. 

Crowley on the other hand, didn’t share my enthusiasm. Instead, he tilted his head as he stared at me quizzically. “Pardon me? Are those terms you use in your world?”

I stopped mid-celebration as a baffled frown replaced the ecstatic grin on my face. “Really? You don’t know what those are?” 

I knew that I was in a different world and all, but so far, it had seemed nearly identical to Earth, save for the whole magic thing. Even then, I’d expect it to be further along in terms of technology than Earth was because of their magic. Maybe the two subjects were called something different in this world. “Do you have any books about space in here?”

Crowley nodded, pulling a book from the stacks he had around him. “This one is the latest copy, it details all of the latest discoveries that we’ve made.”

I grabbed the book, quickly opening it with a renewed smile. “Thank you! I...Wait, what language is this?” On the pages were strange characters that formed strings of text, formatted into paragraphs of information. The characters looked familiar, but I couldn’t place my finger on what they were.

The man used one of his clawed fingers to tilt the book down and look at the paragraph title. “Ah yes, I understand that stars are a complicated topic with confusing terminology and-“

Waving a hand about, I cut him off mid-sentence as I stared at the page. I silently hoped that if I stared hard enough, the words would just suddenly become understandable to me, but alas, they remained just as undecipherable as before.“No, I mean, what language is this written in?”

“That is written in Japanese.”

I choked on air. “Japanese?!” 

No wonder it felt familiar to me. I rescanned the page, my eyes trying to find anything that I could actually comprehend. Nothing. I couldn’t understand a single word- Hold up. Stop the train. I pointed to my lips, a shaky, disbelieving smile on my face. “Are we speaking it too?!”

Crowley seemed concerned for my mental state now, slowing his speech down as if he were talking to a child. “Yes, we have been speaking it since we met. Japanese is one of the main languages spoken in this world.”

I set the book down on the table as I put a hand to my forehead, mentally flicking through moments when I had spoken to him. With a jolt, I felt my breath still as I realized that he was right. I couldn’t discern it when I was actively talking to someone, but now that I was thinking back on it, there was always a slight delay, like my brain was auto-translating each phrase before delivering my consciousness the final statement. The confusing part was when I responded. I always responded in what I assumed to be English, but was it translated over to them into Japanese. Was I speaking English or was I speaking Japanese like Crowley said.

Where had I learned Japanese? When did I learn it? I knew for a fact that I didn’t consciously spend any time learning Japanese, and even if I did, why didn’t I bother to learn how to read or write it as well? No, there’s always the possibility that in this world, they spoke English, but called it Japanese. I took in a deep breath, my heartbeat slowing down as I looked back up at Crowley, who looked about two seconds away from taking me to the infirmary. I had to actively concentrate to try and switch over to English, the rest of my mental facilities shutting down as I put all of my brain power into speaking the familiar language.

**“How about now? Am I still speaking Japanese?”**

The bewildered stare I received from Crowley was enough of an answer for me. The switch was natural enough. It didn’t really feel like anything had truly changed when I actively tried to speak English, but it was like there was a small switch flipped in my brain. I reached deep within myself, concentrating as I tried to flip the switch back over to Japanese.

I huffed, my mental energy completely expended from switching between the two languages. That answered my question. “A new discovery has been made. I can apparently speak Japanese, but I can’t read or write it.” 

It was an odd situation. I hummed in thought as I turned my gaze back onto the book. It might have something to do with me being in a new world. The laws of physics as I knew them back on Earth were completely void here. In a new world, anything goes. Gravity could be reversed, time could flow slower, or the Sun could switch places with the Moon, and it would completely work, because the rules were different here. I was honestly surprised I didn’t just spontaneously combust when I arrived. 

“Really? That makes this quite a bit harder…” Crowley’s muttering snapped me out of my spiraling train of thoughts. I shoved them down into the “I’ll think about it later” jar. I could debate about the physics of the universe later. “Did you have anything on you when you came here?” Crowley asked. “Any ID? Like a license for a magic car, a phone, maybe a name on a shoe…?”

I patted myself down, looking in the pockets of my robe. “Nope, just the clothes on my back.” I wasn’t actually quite sure what I had on me before the whole debacle started. 

“This is concerning…” Crowley scowled. It wasn’t directed at me. He seemed to be more mad at the map than anything else. If he could, I was sure that he’d light the piece of paper on fire just to vent his stress. “I can’t let someone who can’t use magic stay at this school, especially when they have the literary skills of a newborn child at best...”

I gaped at him indignantly, raising a finger to refute his statement when I realized, he was right. I closed my mouth as I looked away from him, a small pout forming on my face.

“However, as an educator, I can’t just toss a penniless teenager out on the street with no form of communication…” He continued.

I could tell that he was drifting in between his choices. Getting tossed out on the streets was not an option. It would turn getting home from hard to nearly impossible. I was basically an alien in this world and getting captured by the feds for interrogation and experimentation was not an appealing future.

“If it makes your decision any easier, this language existed back in my world, so I have some understanding of it.” I grabbed the book, scanning over the pages one last time before I closed it, the small thud echoing through the quiet room. “Give me a book teaching the basics, and I’ll be able to read and write with basic fluency in about four weeks.”

His expression didn’t visibly shift, but I got the feeling that underneath his mask, Crowley had raised a brow as he stared at me. “Not that I doubt your abilities, but isn’t that a bit overexaggerated?”

I will admit, it did seem a bit far-fetched. Normally, learning a language, not in its entirety, but just the basics took forty-eight to seventy-two days. I didn’t have that kind of time. I was confident that I’d be able to pick up the basics in fourty-ish days if I was learning it for fun, but this was a matter of survival. In a school for the best magicians, if I couldn’t use any magic, then I had to be the best in academics. Otherwise, I wouldn’t last long in this school, both in the social chain and in the Headmaster’s eyes. 

“I pick up things fairly quickly. I’m eighteen, but I’m technically in my third year of college, majoring in astrophysics and minoring in theoretical physics.”

“Astrophysics? Theoretical physics?” Crowley was beyond confused at this point, staring at me with a mix of concern and confusion as if I would suddenly start spewing fire from my mouth or something. 

I nodded, waving my hand about as I tried to come up with a summary for the subjects on the spot. “Astrophysics is the study of the physical nature of stars and the universe, and theoretical physics is the study of how things would theoretically work. For example, worm holes and-“

Crowley had obviously lost interest as soon as I started speaking, his mind wandering off to other things. Mid explanation, he suddenly perked up, his eyes widening as he put his fist into his palm in a gesture of realization. “Oh, that’s right! There is an unused building on campus.” 

He flicked his pen to the side, the map mirroring his actions as it floated back to where it came from. He then swirled the pen around in a fluid motion, the stacks of books around him levitating off the ground before soaring away from him, all moving in different directions as they flew back to their respective shelves. “It was once used as a dormitory in the past, so if you clean it up, you should at least be able to sleep there.”

“For the time being, I shall allow you to stay there!” Crowley grabbed the book about space, holding it casually in one hand as he fixed me with a carefree smile. “Then I will look for a way to return you home.”

He looked off to the side of the room, a self-satisfied smirk replacing the light smile he wore as he put the arm holding the book on his chest, throwing the other arm out dramatically. “My graciousness is limitless! I truly am a model for all educators!”

A small smile made its way to my face as I let out a sigh at Crowley’s theatrical antics. It was like seeing a peacock display its feathers, the same smug energy radiated from Crowley. In all honesty, Crowley’s dramatic tendencies were a bit off putting at first, but they were slowly growing on me. 

“We had better be on our way. Let’s head to the dormitory. It may be a bit old, but there is a certain charm to it.” Crowley tucked the pen he held into his vest again, picking up his cane as he brushed past me, humming a peppy tune under his breath.

I followed suit, an ecstatic grin on my face. I was going to be staying in the college as Crowley tried to find a way for me to get back home. Was it going to be smooth sailing from here? No. I wasn’t that naive to think that the universe would suddenly hand the keys back to my world on a silver platter.

There was no guarantee that there was even a way back home, or that we would actually find it, but there was a chance and that’s all that mattered to me in the moment. 

Our footsteps echoed down the stone halls, fading away as we walked out to the courtyard. I looked up at the sky, towards the stars twinkling in the cloudless night sky and beamed fondly, a fluffy cloud happiness rising through my chest.

It really was a beautiful night.

**————————————————-  
Crowley: Where are you from?**

**Eve: Alice in Wonderland but make it a musical.**

**Crowley: You be an alien**

**Eve: (0•0)**

**Crowley: Japanese.**

**Eve: Sorry, I don’t speak Italian.**

**Eve: Bill Nye the Science Guy.**

**Crowley: There’s a free building.**

**Eve:( ￣ ￣)b**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Japanese bit is a nod to the fact that Twisted Wonderland was made in Japan. (And also to throw a challenge at Eve because we love throwing semi-necessary challenges that could potentially lead to bonding time at our protagonists.)
> 
> I don’t actually study astrophysics or theoretical physics, I just find them absolutely fascinating to read and study. If I get any of the details wrong, feel free to roast me down in the comments. 
> 
> Was this entire story just an excuse so that I could research the bare basics of space and wormholes? Maybe! Who knows? Certainly not me.
> 
> Anyways, excuse my rambling, thanks for reading and have a great day!
> 
> EDIT: Here's a link to my explanation if any of you are confused about the science in this chapter!  
> [Explanation Link](https://ukiyo22.tumblr.com/post/619919122877251584/how-did-eve-get-into-twisted-wonderland-a-post)


	6. Home Insurance? What’s That?

I take it back, it was a horrid night. The walk to the dorm was pleasant enough. Once we actually left the college did I realize just how big it was. It was an entire castle! It looked like something pulled straight out of a fairy tale with those classic spiraling towers and arches. I knew that Crowley said that the college was one of the most prestigious colleges, but wasn’t this just a bit overkill?

The surprises didn’t end there either. The winding stone path led us past countless buildings. Some were tall, towering over us with brick walls that blocked even the stars from view, while others were small, seemingly cozy with a charming aesthetic to them. As we walked past a couple more buildings, I noticed that the lamp posts illuminating our path became sparser and sparser, until eventually, we were both swathed in darkness. 

Neither of us spoke a single word during the entire trip, but it was a comfortable silence. It allowed me a chance to properly process everything that happened in the past couple of hours. I still couldn’t fully wrap my head around it though. Who knew that I’d be thrown into another world, one with magic at that? Why me though? Did the universe just spin a random wheel of fortune, or did it have some other purpose? I shook my head, trying to shake out the questions swirling inside my mind. It wasn’t like I could ask the universe personally, so it was useless to dawdle around on pointless questions. 

I nearly ran into Crowley’s back, lost in my thoughts as we stopped in front of a pair of black, spear topped gates. The journey to the dorms must’ve taken at least forty-five minutes if not longer. Looking around, I could feel my eyebrows slide up my face at the sheer amount of space around us. The entire property had to have been at least five football fields large, the giant Victorian-esque mansion sitting in front taking up at least one of them. Under any other circumstance, this wouldn’t have been a problem. In fact, it would’ve been the opposite. An enormous house sitting in an ocean of unoccupied land? Incredible!

The problem was that it was old. Not just old, but it was practically falling apart at the seams. The gate and fencing surrounding the entire property were rusted and dirty, the brown splotches scattered on them eerily similar to blood. As Crowley pried open the gate, it let out an ear-splitting screech, the metal hinges grinding painfully against each other. We walked up the old path that led to the estate, the cracks in the path crisscrossing throughout the pavement, weaving themselves into intricate patterns below our feet. 

Small weeds brushed past my ankles as we walked up the crumbling stone stairs. The weeds seemed to be the only plant life that thrived on the desolate property. Even with the moon as the only light source, I could clearly see that all of the grass was wilted. The few trees that were present were gnarled and barren, resembling twisted brown claws that were trying to dig their way out of the ground. 

Crowley and I stepped onto the porch of the dorm. Up close, the building itself wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Putting a hand on the wooden walls, I could feel their smoothness underneath my hand. The paint was chipping off here and there, but at least there weren’t any visible holes in the walls. Crowley reached into his vest, the fabric shuffling around as he pulled out a metal ring, an assortment of different keys looped onto it.

“Miss Liaz, catch!”

I barely managed to successfully catch the keys, the metal objects jingling in my hands as I fumbled around with them. Most of the keys hanging off of the loop were a metallic black with various numbers engraved into them. Shifting them around, there was another key hidden amongst them. It was a bright, gleaming silver with no visible number carved into it. Did this one unlock the door to the dorm? I put it into the lock and turned it, hearing a small click in response as I swung open the newly unlocked door.

“This… Someone definitely died here.” 

I wasn’t even inside the building yet, but the entrance hallway was like something out of a low-budget horror movie. I glanced over towards Crowley, a frown on my face. “Don’t try and deny it. I know I’m right.” 

Crowley gasped, a clawed hand finding its way onto his chest in a dramatic gesture. “I would never allow a student to be harmed on school property!”

“I- wh- Are we even _on_ school property anymore??” We had walked for so long, that I was almost convinced that we were in a completely different city. The only reason that I knew we were still somewhat close to school grounds was the fact that I could still see the college. Granted, I could only see it when I squinted, but it was still within eyesight. 

I realized that Crowley didn’t respond to my question. Whether it was on purpose, or on accident, I couldn’t tell. The man had already strolled through the open door, the darkness swallowing him as he walked further down the hallway. Everything I had ever learned from Hollywood horror films was screaming at me to not enter the house. To just turn around, leave, and never come back. Buuut...on the other hand, if the murderer, who I was completely sure was hiding somewhere in the house, ready to stab me, was as dumb as the usual horror movie antagonists were, I would be just fine. 

I strolled into the building, barely a step in before I let out a surprised cough and covered my mouth and nose. The sheer amount of dust in the room was practically choking me. Why was it so dusty? Crowley did say that it had been unoccupied for a while, but how long would it have taken for this much dust to accumulate?

The man in question seemed completely unaffected as he casually fixed one of the many crooked paintings on the wall, shooting me a carefree smile as I hacked out my lungs. “Don’t worry, I have full faith that you’ll be able to clean this place up in no time!”

I let out one last wheeze as I waved my hands about, trying to clear the dust floating around me. “I- uh… I don’t know about ‘no time’. This seems like something that would take quite a bit of time…” 

I was gonna need to buy a vacuum or a feather duster at some point. The dust looked like a fresh sheet of snow, blanketing the floor. Not to mention the fact that cobwebs were scattered everywhere in the corners of the hallway, and the spiders… I shuddered. I didn’t even want to think about all of the spiders that were in the dorm.

After I cleared my lungs out, I followed Crowley down the hall, turning left halfway instead of continuing down to the end. We walked into a large living room, and somehow, it was in worse shape than the hallway. Where did I even start with it? It was just as dusty and dirty as the hallway was, the mere sight making my chest tighten up the longer I stared at it. The furniture, while not in shambles, was strewn about everywhere, splintered pieces of wood and cloth littering the floor. The rug, sofas, and curtains were all a mess with rips and tears littered everywhere. Dark splotches of what I hoped were just water stained everything in the room, even the wallpaper. How that water even got in here, I didn’t know. I didn’t _want_ to know. 

“Staying here will at least keep you out of the rain.” I looked over at Crowley, scanning his face for any sign of teasing, for any sign that he was just joking around. Although he was smiling, it was completely guilt free, so either was having a very good laugh at my expense, or he really saw nothing wrong with me staying here.

I looked back towards the room, sweat dropping as I realized that the wallpaper was practically peeling off the walls from the water damage. “I highly doubt that…” 

“I’m going back to do some research. Make yourself at home.” Crowley frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes at me. “And don’t go wandering around the school at night!” He turned around, disappearing down the hallway with a dramatic flourish of his cape. A beat of silence passed. Then two, before he peeked his head back around, a bright smile on his face. “Have a good night!”

I snorted, a small grin crossing my face as I heard the door open and click shut. Crowley might’ve been scary at first, but he seemed like he meant well enough. The smile was quickly wiped off my face as I surveyed the room around me once more, turning into a full frown as I found the light switch and flicked it on. “There’s a visible layer of dust on everything…”

I glared at the dust on the ground, as if it would suddenly poof itself away and disappear if I stared hard enough. Sadly, it did not. Letting out a frustrated groan, I dramatically collapsed onto one of the still upright sofas, grimacing when I realized that I had fallen onto one of the wet spots. “I’m too tired to clean, I just wanna sleep.”

The calming rain pattering on the roof only fueled the drowsiness threatening to overtake me. Instead of succumbing to it however, I sat up, walking to the curtains as I peered outside. It was a familiar sight to see the rain drizzle down above. Normally during a storm, I’d curl up with a blanket and a book near the windows, sipping a cup of coffee or tea. It was a great opportunity to relax and unwind, listening to the sound of the rain as it trickled down the windows. My peaceful reminiscing was quickly shattered as loud thunder that boomed across the skies. 

I frowned. It was about to start storming, and based on the lighting that I saw flash through the clouds, it was going to start storming _hard_. Sure enough, the rain suddenly began to start pouring down from above, pelting the rickety roof like a spray of bullets. The once gentle breeze picked up, turning into gale force winds that threatened to break down the old walls and boarded up windows. The storm slammed into the dorm with the force of a wrecking ball as it tried to level the entire building to the ground, and based on the creaks and groans that echoed through the dorm, I had no doubt that it was going to succeed. Another thundering boom echoed from the skies as lighting arced across the clouds. The lightning disappeared as quickly as it came, and as if the storm itself was flipping me off, it took all the power in the dorm with it, shutting off all of the lights in the building. Well damn. This wasn’t good.

“Hyiii! It’s really coming down!”

I nodded, a grim frown crossing my face as I closed the curtains. “Yeah, it is. We’re gonna be in for a tough one tonight.” Was there anything I could use to absorb the water if the dorm started to flood? I mean, I had my robe, but I’d rather use it to keep myself warm. Maybe there was something in the dorm that could help. There were three floors, so the person next to me could search the first floor while I looked through the second…

Wait a minute.

“Hold up-“

I quickly whirled around. Floating right behind me was an incredibly amused Grim, the flames in his ears flickering a cheeky light blue as he doubled over laughing. “Gyahahaha! You’ve got this stupid look on your face like a spider jumped on you or something!”

He smirked, crossing his arms confidently as he straightened back up. “If everyone is as dumb as you, then I’ll have no trouble sneaking back into the school! If you think getting thrown out is gonna make me give up on getting in, you’ve got another thing coming!”

He’s back? Again? Did he follow Crowley and I as we walked to the dorm or something? Whatever, I could question the cat later. First things first, I needed to get him out of the building before he tried to burn it down. I grabbed the nearest object, a long, unlit candle stick, and chucked it at him like a javelin. “Like hell you're gonna stay here! You’re not even paying any rent! Get out!” Sadly, the candle missed him as he simply floated out of the way. 

“Hah! I don’t care! If you want me to leave,” The cat drifted towards me, getting up close in my personal space as he smugly stared me down. “then make me!”

A wooden plank lay on the ground a couple feet away. I was incredibly tempted to grab it and swing it at Grim like a baseball bat, but somehow, somewhere, I found the will to restrain myself. Instead, I backed off and put a comfortable distance between us as I sat down on the sofa, taking care to avoid the wet spots scattered on it. “Why do you even want to get in so badly?”

If I gave him a chance to talk about himself, maybe he wouldn’t try to burn the dorm down. It seemed to work as he immediately perked up, a proud grin lighting up his face. “That’s simple!” He placed a hand on his patch of white fur, puffing his chest out with pride. “I’m a genius who is destined to be a great magician!”

I crossed my arms as I squinted at him, furrowing my brows. “Aaaaand...you decided to start your career by committing mass arson?”

Grim waved the comment off nonchalantly. “It’s not arson if you don’t get caught.”

“But you did get caught!-”

He cut me off, continuing his dramatic life story. “I’ve been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to come pick me up, but… but...it never came....” Grim’s miserable frown faded, replaced by a scowl as he let out a small tsk. “The Dark Mirror just doesn’t have any eye for this.”

“Isn’t that its job though?” I shifted around on the couch, trying to find a more comfortable position without getting my robe wet. “If it doesn’t bring you, then you aren’t worthy.”

Grim huffed, eyeing me up and down before he swooped down towards me, poking me in the forehead with his paw. “It brought you here. There’s no way you’re any better at magic than I am.”

I opened my mouth, ready to fire off another retort, before I eventually shut it with a click of my teeth. He wasn’t wrong. I didn’t know how to use any magic, or if I could even use magic at all. 

Grim seemed to lose interest in me as he began to slowly drift away from me, floating around the room, paws behind his head like he was bobbing around in a lazy river. “Not letting me in would be a loss for the world, you humans just don’t get it.”

I raised a brow at the feline, watching as he drifted around without a care in the world. “I feel like I should be offended by that...”

Grim snickered as he floated by me, a smug grin on his face. He opened his mouth, no doubt about to spew out another infuriating comment, but before he could, he shuddered violently, nearly falling out of the air. “Nyaa! So cold!” He glared up at the ceiling. “The roof is leaking!”

“And?” I knew that I was going to have to patch it up or find some sort of container to hold the water, but damn it, I was still salty at Grim barging into the dorm like he owned the place. It wouldn’t hurt to let him suffer a bit, would it?

Said cat began to shake himself off like a dog, but unfortunately for him, the water kept dripping down, soaking him even further. “Fgyaa! It keeps coming!” Grim tried his best to cover his head, but his paws weren’t large enough to keep himself completely dry. “My adorable ear fire is gonna go out at this rate!”

I scoffed, standing up to go find a towel or something to dry Grim off with. “That ear fire is your only redeeming trait at this point.”

“Henchman! Use your magic and stop the water leak!” Grim snapped from behind me. 

I’m sorry… what did he say? He did not. I stopped in my tracks, slowly turning around to face the ungrateful brat with an infuriated glint in my eyes. This disrespectful rat is gonna get another thing coming if he thinks he can just boss me around like that. I didn’t know where he got all of his entitlement from, but I wasn't going to bow to his every whim like he was some sort of king.

“Why don’t you use your magic then, oh Great Grim?”

He huffed, offended that I would even dare talk back to him. “Stopping water is far below me! With magic as powerful as mine, I’d blow the roof up if I bothered to use it.”

I was pretty sure that he _would_ actually blow up the roof if he tried anything, but the knowledge did nothing to cool my indiganance towards the cat. I waved a hand around, gesturing towards the stairs and hallway. “Then go find a bucket or something!”

Grim’s ear flames flared a dark blue as he glared daggers at me, growling in frustration. “That’s your job!”

I walked up to Grim, poking him in the chest as I returned his glare tenfold. “I’m not your servant! Instead of sitting there and bossing me around, how about you actually help me? You’re staying here too you know!”

“Help you?” Grim scoffed, the anger that radiated from him evaporated in a flash as he waved a dismissive paw at me. “No waaaaay! I’m just a regular monster staying out of a rainy place!” He grinned greedily, holding a paw out towards me. “You better get a can of tuna ready before I do any work!”

I stared at him silently, a deep scowl etched into my face. “I’m this close to throwing you out that window.” I spat out.

Grim narrowed his electric blue eyes at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”

A humorless laugh left me as I pulled open the curtains to reveal the heavy downpour outside. “Try me.”

We both glared at each other, the raging storm filling the silence between us with its crackling thunder. Grim’s eyes quickly turned to the storm outside, and then back to me, narrowing his eyes before he finally looked away, letting out a frustrated groan. “Uggghhh… you’re such a drag… fine. I’ll help out, but only because I’m so merciful!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” I let go of the curtains, the fabric fluttering back down as I walked past Grim, half tempted to grab him by the tail and drag him with me as petty retaliation. “Let’s go to the end of the hallway, there might be a storage closet or something there.”

Grim muttered something unintelligible, under his breath, but followed me nevertheless. There were two doors at the end of the hallway, neither of them marked with any labels. Should I send Grim off to check one of the rooms while I checked the other? Divide and conquer as they say. However, before I could open my mouth, I felt my heart suddenly speed up. Something felt off. My senses were kicked into overdrive as I felt something watch us from the shadows. 

_Thump!_

My head whipped around to look at the source of the sound. What was that? Was it just my imagination? It must’ve been, right? But that’s what all the movie protagonists say before they’re murdered. I looked back down the hallway. Was a bucket really worth dying over? Another dull thump rang out from the hallway. I shook my head, backing away from the noise. “Nope. Nope. Noooo~ sir. I don’t- no. Something’s there.”

I turned around and grabbed Grim, walking out of the hallway. “Grim, we’re not going down there.”

Unsurprisingly, the little tyke wormed his way out of grasp, smoothing his now messed up fur with his paws as he glared at me indignantly. “You don’t get to call the shots human! We’re going to get that bucket!”

That little- would it kill him to listen for once? I was a hundred and ninety four percent done with his bratty shenanigans today. Is this how Crowley felt during the entrance ceremony? The poor man, I’d have to get him a gift card or something as an apology later. I put a hand to my temples, trying to rub away the incoming migraine as I glowered at Grim. “I don’t care! Either come with me or stay here! I’m not gonna get stabbed in the pancreas over a bucket!”

“Hee hee…”

“We haven’t had a guest in so long…!”

“I’m itching for some action!”

I turned around, spinning around in circles as I tried to figure out who spoke. “Oh, no. No. Nonononono. We’re leaving.” Hollow laughter bounced around the hall in response. Was it one person? Was it two? I had no clue. All I knew was that I was going to leave, with or without Grim. 

Grim raised an eyebrow at me, genuinely concerned for me at this point. “What are you so scared about?” He suddenly paled, something that I didn’t know cats could do until now as he pointed to the space beside my head with a shaky paw. 

“G-g-g-ghoooosts!!”

I closed my eyes as I took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out before I opened my eyes again. A mirthless chuckle escaped me as I stared Grim directly in the eyes. “We’re in danger.”

I felt a cold chill rack up my spine, sending shivers throughout my entire body. A glowing hand emerged through my stomach. Then an arm. Then a shoulder. And then a torso, until a whole ghost had passed through me. It was an unbelievably strange, cool, and horrific experience to feel an entity pass through you, and if I wasn’t about to get maimed by a bunch of ghosts, I would’ve geeked out about the sensation.

They swirled around me in front of me, their bodies and facial features all slightly blurred. They weren’t quite feature-less, but it was like staring at someone swathed in a cloak of mist. I had to concentrate and stare at them to try and make out their faces, a difficult feat considering that they were constantly bobbing around in the air. 

“The people living here got scared of us and left...”

“We’ve been looking for more ghost pals!” The ghost in front of me leaned in close, a pitch black grin carving itself onto their face. “How about you guys?”

Uh- no. The bucket was kicked down to the lowest ranking on my list of problems. Right now, my main goal was to get out of the dorm, preferably alive and in one piece. Grabbing Grim’s arm, I tugged the floating cat towards me as I started to backtrack down the hallway. “Ahaha..! Thanks for the offer, but you see- my seventh uncle’s cousin’s brother’s wife twice removed just called, and wow! Would you look at the time, I gotta go!”

“Grim the Great Magician isn’t scared of some ghosts!!” He managed to keep his voice level, but his flattened ears gave his fear away. Well, at least now I knew the cat had some sort of survival instinct.

A ghost stuck its head through the wall nearly brushing noses with Grim. “Ohh really~?” The feline let out an ear-piercing scream, a column of fire shooting out of his mouth. Even at point blank range, Grim somehow missed the ghost, hitting a nearby painting and lighting it up in flames. 

I let his paw go and ran over to the painting, grabbing it by the frame as I threw it to the ground, trying to stomp out the flames. “Where are you aiming?!”

“Over here, over here! Heehee~!” These ghosts were hellbent on screwing around with us. Looking back down the hall, there seemed to be about three ghosts floating in the hallway. I wasn’t sure if there were any more haunting the dorm, but we needed to get rid of them and fast.

As I finally put out the painting, Grim began to spew fire down the hallway. He missed again, causing the ghosts to zip around the hallways, taunting him to try and hit them. He shot fire around himself, spinning around like a deadly sprinkler as he tried to hit the ghosts.

I pulled off my robe, throwing it onto a nearby flame as I stomped on it to snuff it out. “Again with the fire?! You’re gonna burn the place down!” At this point, I didn’t think he was even trying to hit the ghosts anymore. “Grim! Stop it!”

He whirled around, fury lighting his ears a dark navy blue. “Shut up! Don’t try and give me orders, human!” He hissed.

“Then don’t burn the place down!” I picked up my robe, grimacing at the new scorch marks on it. Damn, I liked the thing too. Looking back around the burnt hallway, the damage didn’t look all that bad. Granted, the power was knocked out so I couldn’t see the full extent of it, but I could add property damage to my ever growing list of problems later. The current problem right now was getting Grim to stop torching the halls. It seemed logic wasn’t enough to stop Grim from his fiery rampage, so what would work on him?

“You’re a genius, aren’t you?!” I planted my hands on my hips, staring the rascal down. “Prove it! Get rid of the ghosts!” If stroking his ego worked before, it should work again, right?

“Hmph! You doubt my abilities, human?! Fine then, I won’t let any of them escape alive!”

It worked! I silently cheered as I added it to my arsenal of ways to get Grim under control. It was only one item long, but it was a start. Wait a minute. I looked back at Grim. “They’re already dead, you-“

The ghosts had apparently had enough of us. They began to swirl around us, swooping and diving around us as they cackled at our expense. Paintings, wooden planks, you name it and it was flying around us. Grim shook his paw at them, his anger reigniting full force as a burnt picture nearly whacked him in the face. “Bunch of cowards, ganging up on us!”

He tried to spit more fire at them, but since they were flying around us in circles, he ended up nearly torching my hair as the fire whooshed past my head. “Wooahh! Wrong target! Wrong target!” I crouched to the ground, patting out my smoldering hair as Grim continued to try and burn the ghosts. 

This game of hit the target continued for a couple more minutes before Grim let out a frustrated growl, pausing his relentless fiery attacks for a moment before he looked down at me, a nasty scowl on his face. “Hey, you! Tell me where the ghosts are!”

I raised a brow, finally putting out the last smoldering bits of my hair as I stared up at him. “Oh, we’re actually working together now? What happened to not taking orders, huh?”

He huffed, looking off to the side as he waved a flippant paw. “Whatever! Just tell me where to aim already you dumb human!”

A small part of me wanted to let him keep attacking blindly just to be petty, but thankfully, the other, more rational side of me won the internal battle. Standing up, I watched for a moment as the ghosts bobbed up and down, zipping around in random directions as they jeered at us. 

No matter how random someone seemed, everyone had a set pattern, whether they knew it or not. It was like a game of chess. Everyone has a strategy that they prefer to use. If you could figure it out, you’d be able to see their thought process, and more importantly, their future moves. I studied their movements, watching as they swerved around, sending the occasional piece of furniture hurtling towards us.

**There.**

“To your left!!”

Grim instantly whirled around, shooting a line of fire to his left.

“Hotttt!”

His mouth fell open, eyes widening into saucers. “Ah! I hit it!” His surprised gaping quickly turned into a confident smirk as he narrowed his eyes, like a predator cornering its prey for the kill. “Alright, let's chase them all outta here!”

I nodded, turning to face the ghosts. They had all frozen in place, obviously not expecting us to deal any damage to them. Walking over to Grim, he shot me a cocky grin as I stood in position behind him, watching the ghosts intently as they began to start weaving around again. 

“Let’s give ‘em Hell!”  
**————————————————-  
Eve: Ooh, big school.**

**Crowley: Here’s the dorm!**

**Eve: It radiates Big Haunted House Energy.**

**Crowley: Imma skeet now.**

**Eve: I’m too tired to clean this place up.**

**Eve: Oh no. Liquid from the sky, what else could go wrong?**

**Grim: OvO**

**Grim: You’re my henchman.**

**Eve: Incorrect. *asserts dominance***

**Ghost: HeE hEe**

**Eve: Michael Jackson?**

**Eve: *chuckles* I’m in danger.**

**Grim: *arson pt 2 electric boogaloo***

**Eve: How about we don’t-**

**Grim: Teamwork?**

**Eve: *surprised Pikachu face***

**Eve: Strategy works.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ending line took more time to think up than I would like to admit ^^;
> 
> On the other hand, I have a Tumblr now! Head on over if you wanna ask a couple questions or chat with me. Or do it here, either way works!  
> [Le Link](https://ukiyo22.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Side Note: If anyone has any questions about the science stuff in the last chapter, I updated the end notes to have a link that sends you to an explanation I made.


	7. Sleep is For The Weak!

“To your left!”

I had been directing Grim’s fire attacks for a while now and both of us were nearing our limits. My eyes were scratchy and strained, the byproduct of being so close to Grim’s flames for so long. The urge to blink, to get some form of relief for my burning eyes was overwhelming, but I didn’t dare miss a single moment of the battle. A single move, a single second was all it would take for the tides to turn against us, and I wasn’t willing to lose.

“My right!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a column of fire whoosh by, but I couldn’t be sure how Grim was doing without turning my attention away from the fight. Based on the hue of his flames however, he wasn’t doing any better than I was. They glowed a dim blue, extinguishing immediately as soon as they got about ten feet away from him. Not only that, but they seemed cooler than before. It might have just been because I was so used to his searing hot flames, but the ghosts seemed to pick up on it too. Slowly, they were creeping in on us, daring to inch closer and closer with each attack.

The tables were slowly turning, and they weren’t in our favor. But through some miracle,

“Dead center!”

we managed to drive the ghosts off. The attack hit one of them square in the chest, their upper torso evaporating with a hiss. 

“Aggh! Hot! Hoooot! Mimsy, Walter! Fall back!” With that parting statement, it fled, flying through the walls and disappearing from sight. There was a slight moment of hesitation from the other two, but they split up and ran away as well. One of them tailing after the injured while the other flew away to god knows where.

Mimsy and Walter. Were those the names of the ghosts? I blinked, my eyes welling up as they finally got their much needed relief. The tears helped somewhat, but I could still feel how scratchy my eyes were from underneath my eyelids. Against my better judgement, I slowly opened them, hissing in a breath of air as they began to sting again. Agh, that was gonna hurt for a while. 

Grim let out a small noise of surprise. “We… won?” I glanced over at the feline, my eyes screaming at the slight movement. Grim’s mouth was hanging open, his arms slack against his body. Despite my blurry vision, I could clearly see him teetering around in the air. For once, I could relate to him. I was beyond tired at that point. The adrenaline that had coursed through my system was gone, and I was ready to collapse and fall asleep then and there. 

“Yeah..” I sighed. “We won.”

Wait a damn minute. We both just kicked ghost butt, and survived to tell the story. Why was I acting like I just saw someone die in front of me? We’re alive! My exhaustion was swept away by the newfound giddiness swirling in me. It felt euphoric, like I had just beat the final boss of a video game. “Wow...we won! Oh my god, we won! We’re the best!” 

Grim stared at me, steadying himself on the wall as he watched me dance around in the hallway. “How are you so excited? That was so sca…” He stopped himself mid-sentence, eyes darting down the hallway as he cleared his throat. “I mean- That was so easy!” He pushed himself off the wall, straightening his slouched posture. “The Great Grim would never be beaten by a couple of ghosts!”

He smirked smugly, throwing his arms out as if there was an adoring audience, cheering in front of him. “Shower me with your praises, human!”

I raised an eyebrow at the cat’s demand. As rude as it was, I had to admit, he did a good job fighting the ghosts. He even asked for my help. Grim was making progress, and in my eyes, that was good enough for me. I plopped a hand onto his head and gave him a couple good scritches. “We kicked ass. Good job.”

I felt Grim flinch under my touch, his small body tensing up. Did he not like getting pet? Huh, that actually made sense. If Grim didn’t like being called a cat, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to assume that he didn’t like being treated as one either. I was ready to retract my hand and apologize, but I paused mid way through. The flames in his ears flickered a light blue, bordering on white as it jumped about, swirling this way and that. 

“Huh…” I hesitantly decided to continue petting him, going a bit slower in case he wanted me to stop. It became obvious that it wasn’t necessary. As I continued, he began to relax, a pleased smile lighting his face up. “Y-yes! I am incredible!” 

“You sure are buddy. You sure are.” If only Grim was like this everyday, I would have no qualms dealing with him. Actually, what caused his sudden change in behavior? Grim seemed… afraid- no, surprised, at my touch. I narrowed my eyes at the cat, scanning for any sign of distress, any cues that would give him away. He looked perfectly fine, purring away as I shifted my hand to scratch behind his ear. It was an odd reaction to say the least. Maybe it was just his instincts, or maybe- I shook my head. If Grim wanted to tell me, he’d tell me. There was no use in speculating.

The front door creaked open, turning my internal monologuing into pure adrenaline as I whipped my head around, ready to order another column of flame from Grim.

“Good evening! I have graciously brought you supper!” I let out a sigh of relief. It was just Crowley. He held a metal tray in his hands, a couple plates stacked with food sitting on top. As soon as he closed the door and turned around, I saw him fumble around with the tray, nearly dropping it altogether as he gaped at the two of us. “What _happened_ here?! Did you start a fire when I was gone?!” 

I slowly shuffled to the side, stomping out a still lit flame with my robe. “Uhh...nope.”

Crowley was practically radiating stress as he pinched the bridge of his nose, shifting the tray over to his other arm to keep the contents balanced. “Why?! For what reason could you possibly-“ 

He looked back up at me, finally noticing Grim floating next to me. “You!! You’re the monster that ran amuck during the entrance ceremony! I threw you out of the school, what are you doing here?!”

“Hmph!” Grim crossed his arms, his smug energy seemingly renewed after the head pats I gave him. “I exterminated the ghost problem in this form for you! Be grateful!”

Crowley’s curiosity was now piqued. “Hm? What do you mean by that?” That was a quick mood change… Well, at least he no longer looked like he was about to have a stroke. 

I waved my hand around, trying to sum up the events that transpired while he was gone. “There were a bunch of ghosts haunting the place. We didn’t get hurt, but they gave us a good scare.”

“Yep! And _I_ scared them off with my incredible fire powers!” I raised a brow, crossing my arms as I shot a peeved look at the smug feline. 

“What he means is _we_ scared them off by working together.”

“But I did most of the work!” And we’re back to square one. Deciding to be the bigger one of us, I bit down on my tongue, stifling another retort as I ripped my gaze away from Grim. 

Crowley hummed. “Now that you mention it, there were some prankster ghosts living here. That’s why students keep away from this dormitory and why it’s now empty.”

I looked at him, my expression twisted in disbelief. “I- I feel like I should have been told this _before_ you left me alone for the night.” There had to have been some other explanation. Crowley wouldn’t leave me to rot in a haunted house on purpose, right?

“I forgot!”

I sighed. “...I’m disappointed, but not surprised.” With the way things were headed, I had a feeling that Crowley wouldn’t be as helpful in finding me a way home as I thought he would be. I would have to find my own way home.

“However...” Crowley hummed, crossing his arms together as he propped his head up with a clawed hand. He stared at the wooden floor, deep in thought. “For you two to work together to get rid of them…”

“Hah!” Grim narrowed his eyes at Crowley, a snarl on his face. “I’m not going to ignore that “together” comment! Like I said, I did most of the work while she just stood there and watched! Speaking of which-“

He whirled around, jabbing a paw at me. “You!”

I raised a brow. “Me?”

“Yeah you! I demand to be rewarded for my hard work! Where’s my tuna?!”

I crinkled my nose, a disgruntled frown on my face as I stared at the greedy cat. “Do I look like I carry a can of tuna around with me? I’ll buy one for you when I have the time!”

“That’s not good enough!” Grim stomped the air, like a child throwing a tantrum. “I want my tuna, now!” He whined.

Crowley intervened, physically putting an arm between us. Knowing him, it probably wasn’t on purpose, but I was grateful nevertheless. “I’d like the two of you to show me how you exterminated those ghosts.”

“But I already got rid of all the ghosts!” Grim shot me a glare out of the corner of his eye. “Speaking of which, I still haven’t gotten my tuna yet!”

“I shall be the ghost.” Crowley placed a hand on his chest. “If you can beat me, I will give you tuna cans, for I am gracious!” He proceeded to pull a vial filled with a green liquid out from somewhere in his vest. “Behold, my Transformation Potion!!” 

I stared at him. Did he always keep a potion in his vest like that? What if he broke it or something? Not only would it spill the potion everywhere, but the glass shards would be a pain, both to clean up and to pull out of your skin. 

Crowley popped open the cork, downing the potion in one gulp as he threw his head back. Immediately, he began to shimmer, turning into a mist-like substance as his body rearranged itself into a ghostly spectre. 

Once Crowley resolidified, he barely looked any different from before. The only real thing that changed about his appearance was the fact that his entire body, including his clothes, had taken on a blue hue, becoming semi-transparent as he floated about in the air. 

His legs were fused together, forming that classic pointy ghost tail. Even as he floated in place, the tail swished around, absentmindedly flicking around like a cats tail. Unlike the other ghosts, his body wasn’t as blurry as theirs was. I could still see the defining lines between his clothing and features. What else was different? Could he phase through walls and throw items around like the other ghosts could, or was the potion solely for cosmetic purposes?

My questions were quickly answered as Crowley began to drift about, the broken vase shards floating up and bobbing around him in a circular motion. I let out a whistle. “Dang, that’s cool.”

Grim however, didn’t seem to share my enthusiasm as he let out a yawn, glancing off to the side in disinterest. “Eeehhh… I don’t wanna. Fighting ghosts is a pain.” He nodded in my direction. “And I’d have to team up with her again.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll ignore that comment for now, but yeah, I surprisingly agree with Grim.” I tilted my head as Crowley tried to grab one of the shards, his fingers phasing through the piece of clay. “What if we accidentally hurt you?”

He waved his hand flippantly. “Don’t worry, that’s not a concern right now. We have a medical staff on campus so even if you were to injure me, I’d be just fine by tomorrow.” Crowley leaned in towards us, floating closer as a sly grin crossed his face. “I’ll sweeten the deal for the two of you. I’ll double the amount of tuna cans _and_ I’ll give you complete access to the library, twenty-four seven, three hundred and sixty-five days a week!”

I could tell that the last part was directed solely towards me. Did Crowley really think that a library would be enough to convince me? Because he was absolutely right. Complete access to the library? Whenever I wanted? The sheer amount of knowledge hiding in the library was more than enough to get me on board. I could study the history of this world, or I could learn about how magic was used, the possibilities were endless! However, the most important reason was that complete access to the library would grant me the ability to research a way to get back home. I glanced over at Grim, a bright gleam in my eyes. 

“Hnnnn…” The feline was visibly split about the deal. My excitement seemed to sway him a bit, but I knew I had to push him a bit further before he would agree.

“Grim! Do it for the tuna!” I cupped my hands around my mouth. “ _The tuna…_ ” I echoed. It was a childish attempt to get him on board, but I was willing to do _anything_ to get access to that library.

Surprisingly, it seemed to work. Grim tilted his head back and let out a frustrated groan. “Ugghhh…. fine! This is the last time!” He looked back up as he glowered at Crowley and I. “And you absolutely _have_ to give me tuna after this!!”

Grim had barely finished his demand before Crowley had zipped down the hallway, the broken shards around him picking up speed as they swirled around him. He began to shoot them down the hall one by one like bullets. Even though none of them flew close enough to hit either of us, I could tell from the loud shatters that echoed through the hall that getting hit by one of them was not a good idea. The best course of action was to end this as quickly as possible before either of us got hurt.

I threw a hand out in front of me, pointing at Crowley as another shard whizzed by my head. “Straight forward!”

A scorching plume of flame leapt at Crowley, and the battle had begun.

————————————————-

“Eh..heh… H-how was that?” Grim panted.

The fight didn’t last more than a couple minutes, the two of us quickly overtaking Crowley with our teamwork. It went a lot smoother than the first battle with the ghosts did. With each command, Grim’s aim improved greatly, to the point where he could be on the opposite end of the hall and I’d still have full confidence that he could land an attack. Now that the fight was over, Crowley’s transformation potion wore off, a poof of smoke erupting from his body. When it dissipated, Crowley was back to normal, albeit a bit disoriented as he wobbled around a bit.

“I can’t believe it...there is a person who can command monsters!” Crowley gawked.

Even through my haze of exhaustion, I could still feel the sudden spike of irritation from Grim as he let out a sound of indignance, his head whipping towards the headmaster.

“Hmm… actually I always knew something about you was different.” Crowley placed both hands on his hips as a self-satisfied smile lit up his face. “My teacher senses were telling me since the uproar during the entrance ceremony!” 

I let out a small huff of laughter. What’s next? His spidey senses started tingling too? Crowley turned to me, his eyes bright with fascination as he grabbed my hands, examining my face closely as if it held the answers to the universe. “You must have the talents of an animal or wild beast tamer!”

“Are you calling me an _animal_?!” Grim’s anger reached a peak as he zipped over to the headmaster, his ears flickering a dark blue.

“But… no matter how..” Crowley drifted off in murmurs, ignoring Grim’s cry of outrage. This only served to infuriate the feline more as he let out a feral snarl, baring his fangs at the headmaster. I was willing to bet that Grim was ready to commit a homicide at this point. Although I could relate to his anger, I really didn’t want to add ‘Disposing a Body’ to my list of chores, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “How about letting Grim into the school?”

“...”

“...”

You fool! You absolute buffoon! Where did _that_ come from?! If I could, I would’ve slammed my head against the wall and knocked myself out then and there. I appreciated my brain’s natural ability to think on its feet, but I desperately needed to get a filter for it at some point.

“What now? A monster??” That seemed to yank Crowley out of his rambling, his yellow eyes turning into pinpricks at the mere suggestion of Grim attending Night Raven College.

“You…” Grim stared at me, dumbfounded. It was such a raw, and genuine expression that I felt a bit bad for him. Did he really not expect me to stand up for him? Granted, I didn’t expect to advocate for him myself, but still. I made a small note in the back of my mind to be more lenient to him in the future. I didn’t know what he went through in the past, but for now he had my sympathy.

Crowley vehemently shook his head. “I cannot, in good conscience, allow a monster to attend Night Raven College. Much less a monster that decided to nearly burn down the school.”

“Uhhh-“ Come on brain! Come up with something! I was half tempted to just shrug and say ‘Oh well!’, but Grim’s expression flashed through my mind. I had gotten his hopes up and I’d be a monster if I let him down that fast. “-The ghosts! Yes! What if the ghosts come back? I don’t know how to use magic, so I’d need to Grim to help protect me!”

Grim nearly fell out of the air, turning to face me with wide eyes. “You don’t know how to use magic?! But the mirror-“

I let out a loud bark of laughter. “ANYWAYS-! What do you say Mr. Crowley?” The silence that filled the hall was deafening. It seemed to last an eternity, stretching on as we both stared at him in anticipation.

Finally, Crowley let out a sigh. “Alright then.”

If I had a glass of water in my hand, I would’ve done a spit take. That easily? I didn’t actually expect my flimsy reasoning to convince the man. Grim seemed to share my shock as his jaw fell slack, eyes somehow widening ever further as he gazed at Crowley, a sparkling gleam in his eyes. “Really?!”

“However.” Crowley raised a finger. “I can’t simply allow someone, let alone a monster, into the school who wasn’t selected by the Dark Mirror.” He turned his gaze to me. “Also, I can’t let you be a freeloader here until you return to your own world…”

Grim huffed, his excitement completely gone. “Well… talk about a mood killer...” He wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t say that I didn’t expect it either. Nothing in life came for free. There would always be a ‘however’ to any deal.

“Listen until the end.” Crowley chided. “Concerning the fact that your soul was called here, the school has to take responsibility as the owners of the Dark Mirror. For the time being, you’ll be permitted to stay in this dormitory for free, but other necessities you will have to provide for yourself.”

That was actually a fair deal. In terms of bargaining power, Grim and I were clearly at a disadvantage. I half expected Crowley to make some ludicrous demand and send us on a wild goose chase for some rare artifact or something. 

“Thank you for the hospitality, but where are we supposed to get money for supplies?” I looked off to the side, rubbing the back of my neck. “I don’t know how to break it to you, but I’m not registered as a citizen anywhere. There’s no way for me to get a stable job without any credentials.”

Crowley snapped his fingers. “That leads into my next point! Here’s my proposition to you...” He paused for dramatic effect. “I’ll have you do maintenance and odd jobs around campus!”

“Huh.” I crossed my arms as I stared at him. “I half expected you to ask me to run a cult or something.”

“What? No! Where did you ever get such a notion?!”

“Ok, when a bunch of people wearing cloaks are in one room, standing in a circle, surrounding a mirror, there are only so many conclusions you can reach.” I raised a brow at the masked man. “Anyways, what sort of ‘odd jobs’ are we talking about?”

“Hmm.. mostly cleaning and whatnot.” Crowley looked around the hallway. “I hope that you’re good at it!”

Did... did he not see all of the scorch marks and broken pieces of furniture everywhere? Outside, the storm had calmed down a bit, the rain calmly pattering down on the boarded up windows once more. This would’ve been a good thing since it meant Grim and I would no longer have to worry about the dorm flooding. The problem however, was the fact that the power was due to turn back on at any moment now. I glanced up at the lights in the hallway. Please, _please_ do not turn on. I couldn’t even begin to imagine Crowley’s reaction if he realized that the dorm was practically in tatters.

“Would you two like to become the handymen of the school? That way, you’ll receive special permission to remain on school grounds.” He looked over at me. “You’ll also be able to ‘study’ whatever you desire in the library now that you both have complete access to it, but only after your work is done! Truly, I am gracious!”

I looked back down from the ceiling, calming my racing heart as I gave my best nonchalant shrug. “Honestly, this is a lot better than what I expected. I’m in.”

“Ehhh?! I’m not okay with that!” Grim wasn’t having any of it. “I wanna wear a fancy uniform and be a student!” He whined. 

Crowley smiled. “If you’re unsatisfied, I can always throw you out!” I shot Grim a look from the corner of my eye. You have one job. I stuck my neck out to ask Crowley to let you into the school, so you better not mess it up. 

He seemed to get the message, letting out a small tsk as he crossed his arms. “Alright, fine, I get it! I’ll do it!”

Crowley clapped his hands together. “Wonderful!” He began to make his way towards the door, opening it before he turned back to face us. “Starting tomorrow, you two must endeavor to be the best handymen at Night Raven College, so sleep tight!” With that, Crowley left the dorm, closing the door with a click.

I raised a brow. “Aren’t we the only handymen?”

A muffled, “Only the best!” rang from outside the building. Could he hear me from outside the building? I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by his hearing abilities, or concerned at how thin the walls were. As if on cue, a muffled buzz rang through the halls, an electric whirring following it just a couple seconds later. They continued in tandem for a couple of moments before a loud click echoed, and then the building fell silent. A few moments passed and then the lights turned back on, revealing the full damage of the battles. 

I hissed in a breath, wincing as I scanned the hallway. “Ohhh nooo…That’s…”

Grim didn’t look fazed, closing his eyes as he heaved a sigh. “I’m not cleaning that up.”

“Agreed. We can leave it for tomorrow.”

The two of us stood in silence. 

“So…” I looked around the hallway. “Where’s the bedroom?”

The simple question led to a massive scavenger hunt, the two of us scouring each floor for a semi-livable room to sleep in for the night. I was currently on the second floor, peeking my head around a corner when I heard Grim shout from somewhere on the same floor. “This one looks decent!”

It took me a while to actually locate him, poking my head into various rooms as I backtracked my way to the stairs. When I finally found him, he was lounging around on an antique, white linen bed. Grim was right, the room was cleaner than any of the rooms entire dorm. The windows were boarded up and the floorboards were creaky, but at least there wasn’t a sheet of dust covering everything. I flicked off the lights and unceremoniously collapsed onto the bed, almost knocking Grim off in the process. 

“Hey, watch it human!” He let out a huff before he floated off onto the shelf, curling up into a ball as he settled into his new spot. Huh, was that his only complaint? I thought he would’ve thrown a whole tantrum, ranting about how he deserved the bed. Well, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. A couple minutes ticked by, silence filling the room as the two of us tried to fall asleep.

“Hey. Hey human.” I felt a poke on my back.

“Hey. Hey. Hey.” He punctuated each ‘Hey’ with a poke. This continued for a good five minutes, before he finally stopped.

“I can’t sleep.”

**————————————————-  
Eve: Victory! We’re the best!**

**Grim: OvO**

**Eve: *head scritches***

**Grim: UvU**

**Crowley: I have returned!**

**Eve: Arson? Who’s that, we don’t know them.**

**Grim: *does Grim things***

**Eve: I thought I liked you.**

**Crowley: Fight me and I’ll give you stuff. *turns into a ghost***

**Eve and Grim: (Teamwork Skill went up a level!)**

**Crowley: Grim sux**

**Grim: *offended Grim noise***

**Eve: Let Grim into the school**

**Grim: *happy Grim noise***

**Crowley: Sure but you’re the handyman now.**

**Eve and Grim: Okie.**

**Grim: I can’t sleep.**

**Eve: ...bruh.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small brain Eve. Give her a library and she’s set for the next eternity and a half.
> 
> Eve and Grim bonding time! Sort of. Eve would still chuck Grim out the window if he started getting bratty again. She’d just make sure that there was a bush or something outside before throwing him out.
> 
> Also, props to you if you can figure out who I based the ghosts on.


	8. And They Were Roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Grim.

“Rise and shine sleepin’ beauty! Don’t you and your cat have to clean the school today or something?” 

I rolled over, burying my face into the soft pillow. “I duhnt whanna.” 

Grim kept me up well into the night with his constant yapping, prattling on and on about his powers and how he was going to become the greatest magician in the world. At first, I was interested. It was interesting to see how he planned to achieve his dreams. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t anything too intricate, just his usual “I’m the best, so I just have to assert my dominance and watch as everyone bows down to me!” Those weren’t his exact words, but by the time he started to go into detail, I was already half asleep. 

“Hnngh… five more minutes…” Grim muttered. Well, that sucked. If he wasn’t going to get up, I guess I had to be the responsible one out of the two of us. I groaned, cracking my eyes open as I sat up from my comfortable position. The first thing that greeted me was the ceiling, mere inches away from my nose. Did the room shrink during the night? I turned my head to look at the walls, only to see that they were still a normal distance away from me. Putting my arms in front of me, I pushed myself away from the ceiling, the gentle action sending me drifting weightlessly through the room. 

Ah, I was floating. 

Hang on, I wasn’t supposed to do that.

“Wooaggh! What the fuc- uh. What the fudge?!” I waved my arms around, trying to rotate my body with minimal success. I was floating in the middle of the room, too far away from the ceiling and floor to use either as platforms to push myself around. That meant that my only option was to use a nearby object as leverage. I craned my head around. The only objects floating in the room were me and my pillow. The other pieces of furniture were planted firmly on the ground. Looking back up at the ceiling, the pillow was just barely out of my reach, hovering almost tauntingly as I tried to grab it. “Oh come on!”

Grim let out a frustrated groan, uncurling himself as he rubbed his eyes. “Ughhh- human, stop yelling or else I’ll-“ He trailed off, staring at me in confusion as I hovered in the air. I could see the cogs turning around as his mind tried to process the sight. It finally seemed to click as he let out a choked noise of surprise, his eyes widening comically. “Didn’t you say you didn’t know how to use magic?! Since when could you float?! ”

“Since now apparently, and I don’t know how to get myself down!!” This was a problem. I didn’t know how to fly around like Grim did! How was I supposed to get around the college if I was stuck floating? 

Cackling laughter bounced throughout the room. “You two are a riot! Hey Petey, get me some popcorn, will you?”

Oh great. We had an audience. I turned my head around, scanning to room for the source of the voice. I couldn’t see anyone. Grim on the other hand, was staring intently at the door, his fangs bared in a snarl. “Fgnyaa!! It’s those ghosts again!”

“Seriously?!” I flailed my limbs around in an attempt to turn myself towards the doorway behind me. “Didn’t we chase them off last night?!”

“Yeah we did, but they’re back for more!” Grim’s snarl turned in a smug grin as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll be happy to give them a round two though!”

“Woah! No! Don’t you dare! We sleep here! I’m fine with you burning the hallway-” I paused, reconsidering my words. “Actually, no I’m not. But regardless, no more fire!”

“How do you expect us to get rid of them then?!”

“Get a vacuum or something! Try getting rid of them Ghostbuster style!”

During our squabble, the cackles had only grown louder. Whoever was watching was no doubt laughing at our expense. It repeated over and over, an endless loop that rang out in the background, until a tired sigh cut through it. “Mimsy, have some mercy. Put the poor girl down.”

There was a new voice. Unlike the other, this one was masculine. It was soft and smooth, but it had a firm edge to it. Mimsy huffed. “Aww, come on Wally, you’re no fun!” 

Despite her protests, I felt gravity quickly reclaim me. I landed on the floor with a thud, the impact knocking the wind out of my lungs. Quicky scrambling to my feet with the help of Grim, I turned to the doorway. Hovering around it were three ghosts, glowing with an otherworldly aura. 

“How many times do I have to tell you?” The ghost who I assumed to be Walter, pinched the bridge of his nose with a wispy hand. “It’s Walter! Not Wally, not Waltzer, and definitely not ‘Guy With a Stick up His Ass!’”

“That was one time!” Mimsy protested.

“One time too many!”

The two continued to bicker, spitting insults back and forth at each other. It was oddly familiar. Was this what Grim and I looked like when we argued? Looking over at the floating cat, he too seemed to be caught off guard. It wasn’t everyday you saw two ghosts roast each other like they were in a rap battle.

The third ghost slung its arm over my neck, a hazy grin crossing their face. “Get used to it kid. These two fight like alley cats on the daily.” He took a drag from his...cigar? Where did he even get that from?! 

I shrugged his arm off of my neck, discreetly looping an arm around Grim as I started to creep over to the door. In any other circumstance with living, human beings, I’d just wait it out, but I was _not_ willing to risk a repeat of last night, especially if the ghosts decided to start throwing furniture around again. “Cool, cool. Good to know. Anyways, we better get going! We’d hate to intrude on your-“

“Good morning!” The door was thrown wide open, nearly slamming into me as it swung by. Immediately the two bickering ghosts fell quiet. The three of them shared a look before flying off into different directions, fleeing the room. That was.. odd. Nevertheless, I turned around to the doorway, and in strode Crowley, smiling brightly at us. It was _five-thirty_ in the morning. How was he this cheerful? “Did you two sleep well last night?”

Grim’s ears flicked up at the question and he leapt at the chance to complain about something. “I was sleeping on the shelf last night, and it fell down from underneath me! Just how badly did you let this place go?”

I nodded in agreement. “I inhaled at least a pound of dust and I think I got bitten a spider or two. Also, the ghosts came back. They’re probably not gonna leave anytime soon...” I perked up, beaming brightly as I mimicked Crowley’s energetic smile. “But aside from that, I slept like a baby! A very traumatized, and shocked baby, but a baby nonetheless.”

Crowley chuckled, taking my sarcasm in stride.“Good to see that you can still be cheeky even after being tossed into another world! Anyways, I came to speak to you about your work today.” He opened the door further, gesturing down the hallway. ”Shall we?”

We left the bedroom, walking down the hallway and down the stairs into the living room. I flicked on the lights and immediately grimaced at the sight. I had forgotten just how bad the living room was. Just the dust alone would make the living room a dumpster fire compared to the bed room. Not to mention the fact that since Grim and I never found that bucket, there was a thin coat of water covering the entire floor. Thankfully, it only seemed to be on the floor and not on any of the furniture. 

Crowley cleared his throat. “Today, your job is to clean the campus. However, I understand that it is very large and cleaning it without magic would be near impossible. So for today, I’d like you to clean Main Street, from the Main Gate to the Library, understood?” Crowley narrowed his eyes, pointing a finger at Grim as he lowered his voice and leaned in closer to me. “I’d also like you to watch Grim closely so he doesn’t cause a scene like yesterday…”

I hissed in a breath. “That’s.. a tall order.” Cleaning an entire street in a day? Doable. It would take some elbow grease and effort, but it was doable. Making sure that Grim didn’t commit arson again? Now that’s too much to ask for. 

“I’m counting on you.” Crowley straightened back up. “You both also have my permission to eat lunch in the school cafeteria. Make sure to take care of your work enthusiastically!” He turned around with a dramatic swoosh of his cap and walked away, waving a cheerful goodbye at us before turning a right and disappearing around the corner.

I could hear the door open, the hinges creaking noisily, before it closed shut with a click. A whole three seconds passed by before Grim let out a frustrated groan, flopping onto the sofa “I don't wanna do any cleaning! I wanna go to class and _bang! Boom, boom, boom!_ Use a bunch of awesome spells~!” He lit up with pure excitement, stars sparkling in his eyes as he punctuated each sound effect with a wave of his paws. I rubbed his head, a small grin on my face. “Me too buddy, me too. Let’s just get Main Street cleaned so we don’t have to worry about it later.”

Grim grumbled something under his breath, his face falling flat, but he begrudgingly nodded. He climbed onto my shoulders and I walked towards the hallway, ready to start the day.

Suddenly, a translucent head popped out from the side of the wall. “You can’t be going out dressed like that...!”

I let out an unholy shriek, nearly throwing a Grim off my shoulders as I stumbled back. “Good god, a warning next time!” Only after I closed my mouth did I realize that I had just sassed an undead ghost. The very same one that tried to throw a painting, table, and various other household objects at me yesterday. Well, if I was going to die, I might as well indulge them in conversation. I straightened back up, crossing my arms defensively as I stared him down. “And dressed like what?”

Walter, or was it Pete, fully phased through the wall, mirroring my pose as he pointed a finger at me. “You’re still in your pajamas sweetheart.”

I looked down at myself. “Ah. It seems that you’re right.”

Grim snickered, poking the side of my head repeatedly. “Pfft! You dumb human! Did you really not know?”

I huffed, swatting his paw away. “It’s the crack of dawn. The world, and my responsibilities don’t exist until I’ve had my coffee.” I plucked Grim off of my shoulders, placing him gently on a nearby couch. “Speaking of which, I’m gonna go make some right now.”

I made my way to the kitchen with Grim following just me. It was connected to the living room, nestled into a crook under the stairs, but there was a sleek black marble countertop that separated it from the rest of the room. Aside from that, it looked like your everyday kitchen, furnished with a surprisingly modern fridge and oven. I walked past the countertop and began to look through the cabinets for the coffee machine, but as I rummaged through them, I realized that the ghost had followed us. 

I glanced over my shoulder, staring at him as he floated in place. “So what’s your deal? Are you gonna possess us or something… who are you? Wally? Peterson? Ron Weasley?”

“It’s. _Walter_.” I could hear the way his teeth grinded against each other from where I stood. “And no, we are not going to possess you or your cat.” He paused. “Actually, I can’t guarantee that Mimsy won’t, but at the very least, Pete and I won’t.”

I scoffed, opening another cabinet and poking around in it. “How reassuring.”

He ignored my comment. “Our _‘deal’_ is that we… _‘live’_ here. If you’re gonna stay here too, you’ll have to live with us.”

I hummed as I closed the cabinet, turning around to properly face Walter. “I heard a lot of strange emphases on specific words there. That’s totally not suspicious at all.”

Grim sat down on the kitchen counter, crossing his arms as he glared holes through Walter. “For once, I agree with her! The Great Grim refuses to share a house with some measly ghosts!” 

Another ghost poked their head through the wall. “Didn’t we scare the living daylights out of you last night?” Based on her feminine voice, I assumed that she was Mimsy. She got up into Grim’s personal space, causing the feline to let out a startled yelp as he leapt back. “If you’re so great, some measly ghosts like us shouldn’t have scared you!”

“I-I wasn’t scared! I was just…” Grim visibly stuttered around, trying to conjure up an excuse. “-pretending! I was pretending so that my henchman wouldn't feel ashamed for feeling so scared!”

I felt my eye twitch as a strained smile crossed my face. “I have a name you know. It’s Eve. Use it.”

“Humph! I’ll call you what I want!”

Huffing, I turned back around, resuming my search for that ever elusive coffee machine. “Alright then, _cat_. Two can play at that game.” I groaned in frustration as I looked through the last cabinet, only to turn up empty handed. “If there’s no coffee, is there at least anything to eat here?”

Walter chuckled as he closed all of the cabinets I left open. “Unless you want to eat the dust bunnies, that would be a no.”

I opened the fridge in a last ditch attempt, but just as Walter said there was nothing inside. “Didn’t one of you say to ‘grab some popcorn’ or something? It’s not a healthy breakfast, but I’ll take it.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you humans can eat ghost food.” I closed the fridge, and turned back around. The third ghost had made their way into the kitchen as well. Pete, was it?

I let out a small whistle. “There’s a thing as ghost food?”

“Yup, it’s food, but for ghosts.”

Yeah, I didn’t know what else I expected. I held out a hand to Grim. He stared at me in confusion for a second before I pointed to my neck. He made an ‘oh’ face and scampered up my arm, resting himself around my neck. Leaving the kitchen, I walked up the stairs, well aware of the ghostly entourage I had trailing behind me. The conversation had died off, leaving an awkward silence in its place. It was awkwardly painful, almost as bad as the silence between Crowley and I after the whole arson fiasco. How do you start a conversation with three ghosts who tried to kill you last night?

I walked into the bedroom, the ghosts phasing through the walls behind me. As Grim floated off my shoulders and plopped himself onto my bed, I turned to face the ghosts. “So, why the sudden change of heart?” 

“Hm?” Walter seemed to be the only one that was actually paying any attention to us. The other two were goofing off, snickering at god knows what. 

“The three of you were trying to kill us last night,” I clarified. “What’s with the new attitude?”

“Ah, that whole scare was Mimsy’s idea.”

Mimsy scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Don’t let the whole gentleman act fool you, Streaks. He went along with the idea. Wally here might act like an angel, but he’s just as bad as the rest of us.”

“Yes, but unlike some people I know, I know when to stop.” Walter shot back. 

Pete was right, they really did fight like alley cats. That aside, I had a bigger question on my mind. “I’m sorry, who’s “Streaks”?” 

“You.” Mimsy zipped up to me, grabbing a lock of my hair in her pale hands.” You got those white streaks of hair peeking between all of that wavy black hair. It’s fitting, isn’t it?”

Grim plopped onto the bed, spreading his arms out like a starfish. “Why can she call you a name, but I can’t?!” He whined.

I rolled my eyes, opening the nearby closet. “Because ‘Streaks’ isn’t a degrading nickname, _cat_.”

Said cat immediately bolted up, his ears flickering a familiar shade of dark blue. “Don’t call me a cat, _henchman_.”

“Children, children, calm down!” Pete gestured at the clock hanging on the wall. “It’s far too early to get into an argument.”

He was right, it was only six in the morning. If I was going to clean from Main Street to the Library, I couldn’t waste any energy squabbling with Grim. I let out a small sigh. “Alright then, topic switch. Whose clothes are these?”

The clothes looked a bit dated, carrying a sort of Victorian charm to them. I spotted a few frayed edges here and there, but for the most part they were still wearable. The strange part was that they were all female clothes. Night Raven College was an all boys school, so how and why were the female clothes on campus? My questions were quickly answered as Mimsy shoved me aside, pointing to the closet. “Oh, those are mine from when I attended the NRC!” 

She let out a small gasp, her eyes lighting up as she squealed with excitement. “Lightbulb! It’s dress up time!” She turned to Pete and Walter, making a shooting gesture with her hands. “Men, would you please give us some privacy?”

The two of them left without complaint, turning around and phasing out of the room. Mimsy grabbed Grim by the scruff of his neck, practically chucking the poor cat out of the room. “You too!”

She clapped her hands, turning back around to face me. “Alright, let's get you all dolled up!” Mimsy pointed to the bed, signaling me to sit down as she rummaged through the closet. While she did, I took it as my time to ask some questions. “How did you attend NRC? I thought that this was an all-boys school.”

She hummed, taking out two blouses and comparing them against each other. “It is, but the Dark Mirror has pulled some female students in from time to time.” Mimsy shot me a beaming smile from over her shoulder. “You and I are the only ones Streaks! Doesn’t that make you feel special?”

“I-...sort of?” Being special wasn’t always a good thing. Sometimes it’s better to blend in with the crowd. Whether this was that time, I wasn’t absolutely sure. Mimsy turned around, holding up two skirts. They were both a dark, charcoal black, with a line of gold running through them near the hems. “Which one is better?”

I sweatdropped as I glanced between the two. The skirts were _short_. They weren’t even mid-thigh length. If there was any sort of dress code in the college at all, I would immediately be flagged down. “Uh, is there anything more casual for me to wear?”

Mimsy chortled, laughing like I had just cracked the world's greatest joke until she realized that I was serious. “Streaks, this is a _private_ college. When it comes to uniforms, there’s no such thing as ‘casual’!”

I sighed. She had a point. “Is there at least a longer skirt?”

“Hmm~” Mimsy poked around the closet for a couple more minutes. For such a small closet, I was impressed by the amount of clothing it could fit inside. “Aha!” 

Mimsy pulled out another skirt. Patten-wise, it was absolutely identical to the others. The only difference was that this skirt went down to slightly below mid-thigh, with a fluffy petticoat sitting underneath. Even though it was still a bit short for my tastes, I had a feeling that it was the best one that I was going to see, so I gave Mimsy a thumbs up. “Yeah, that one looks good.”

“Great! Now go change! Don’t worry, I’ll turn around!” Mimsy threw the heap of clothing at me and turned around, swaying back and forth as she hummed in excitement. I stumbled forward, barely catching the pile of clothes in my hands before looking back at Mimsy. Blinking a couple times, I realized with a start that the mist that blurred her features had dissipated a bit. She wore a Victorian dress, similar to the ones stuffed in her closet, with extravagant frills and laces lining the hem, giving it that extra flair. Her hair was a frizzy white mess of curls, covering her petite frame as she let out an exaggerated huff. “I don’t hear you changing! Hurry up!”

Ah right, that. I quickly took off my jeans and white t-shirt, folding them neatly before putting on the petticoat and skirt. I pulled the blouse over my head and adjusted the sleeves, folding the cuffs back until they were at a comfortable length. It was when I was putting the blazer on did a thought strike me. “Why did no one mention you when I got here? If you were the only female student before me, there would’ve been at least a couple students talking about you, right?”

Mimsy froze in place, and I could immediately tell that I had poked a sore subject. “... Watch yourself. You’re sticking your nose in places where you shouldn’t Streaks.” Was it me, or did she become foggier again? Her white, frizzy curls had blurred back into each other, forming one big unidentifiable mass as she stared at the ground, her hands curling into fists.

I rubbed the back of my neck, glancing off to the side of the room. “I’m sorry,” I murmured. Leave it to me to somehow find a way to piss off a ghost in under ten minutes. I had no idea why that particular subject was touchy, but I’d leave it alone. I coughed awkwardly, trying to break the tense silence. “I’m finished changing. You can turn around now.”

Mimsy turned around and immediately brightened back up again, clapping her hands together in delight. “Oh, you look so pretty! Spin for me!” I twirled around, the skirt flaring around me as the petticoat beneath poofed up. I turned back to Mimsy, expecting a smile or some expression of happiness, but instead, her arms were crossed as she stared at me, deep in thought. “Hmm.. it’s pretty, but it’s missing something.” 

She turned back around and searched through her closet, pulling out a various assortment of objects, not just clothes. Hangers, toilet paper, water bottles… was that a microwave? I half expected her to pull out an elephant at that point, but instead, she pulled out a small wooden chest, lined with intricate, golden swirls. “Here it is!” She opened the box and pulled out the small, silvery object resting inside, thrusting it into my arms as she shut the box with a click. 

It was a hair clip. There were three small stars, connected by a loop of silver chains. On the back of the stars were tiny clips, hidden from view. I smiled. It was simple and elegant. And it was perfect. “Is there a mirror anywhere?”

“Ah, I can put it on for you!” I sat down, and Mimsy pinned the hair clip on the left side of my hair, running her hands through it once or twice to give it more volume before she stepped back, admiring her work.

“Oh, you look absolutely gorgeous! Just like a doll!” She clapped her hands together, smiling sweetly as she patted my head. “Now remember, always watch your back. Sit with your legs crossed, and stay in crowded areas. Men are wolves and you never know what’s going to happen to a darling like you!”

Someone knocked on the walls. “We heard that Mimsy! If you’re gonna badmouth us, at least try to be quieter!”

“What makes you think I was talking about you two, huh?” Mimsy shot back. “Got something you want to confess?”

I snickered. “He sounds guilty to me.” I stood up and walked over to the door, Mimsy on my heels. I swung it open. Pete was waiting near the bathroom door, his arms crossed as he took a drag from his cigar. When he saw me, he gave me a polite nod, golf clapping as he pulled the cigar out of his mouth. “Not bad, not bad. It looks a whole lot better than wearin’ that burnt robe of yours.”

I grimaced. Ah yes. That. The burnt piece of fabric only served as a reminder that I still had to clean up the hallway from last night, a task that I was not looking forward to completing. Before I could voice those thoughts, multiple thunderous crashes and bangs echoed from the bathroom, loud splashes of water following shortly after.

I glanced over at Pete, pointing to the door next to him with a raised brow. “Should I be concerned?”

“Nah, Walter’s got it covered.”

Pete had barely finished speaking when the bathroom door practically flew off its hinges, a panicked Grim flying out. He was soaked to the bone and gasping for air as he turned towards me, a desperate plea on his face. “Human! Human! Help me! Please-“

A translucent hand grabbed Grim by the scruff of his neck as another one reached out to cover his mouth, yanking him back into the bathroom. Pete, undisturbed as ever, just chuckled, nudging the door closed with his foot.

“Huh.” I crossed my arms, staring at the space where Grim once was. “I think I just witnessed a murder.”

Mimsy shook her head, her white curls bouncing around. “Nope! If Walter was actually murdering someone, there would be nothing to witness!”

“That… does not reassure me in any way, shape, or form.”

Pete lightly slapped Mimsy on the back of her head. “Don’t listen to her. Walter’s just giving your cat a bath.” Right on cue, a sharp yowl rang out from the bathroom, a couple of short hisses accompanying it. “That cat of yours really doesn’t like to take baths, huh?”

I snorted, walking over to the staircase and leaning on the wooden banister. “Well, Grim’s a cat and he uses fire. What did you expect?”

Pete hummed. “Fair enough.”

As we walked down the stairs, I looked over at Mimsy, a frown on my face. “How did Walter actually grab Grim though? Don’t ghosts phase through things?” There were actually multiple instances where the ghosts were able to touch items. Walter as he closed the cabinets, Mimsy as she put the clip in my hair, Pete as he closed the door, it was something that I had noticed but never really bothered to ask about.

“We can choose to touch things if we want.” Mimsy knocked on the wall, the dull sound echoing throughout the living room. “Usually we’d just float them around, but out of all of us, Walter’s especially used to using his own hands. Guess old habits die hard.”

The three of us fell in a comfortable silence, the sound of water running from upstairs serving as the calming background music between us. “I’m actually surprised the water still works in this place.” I muttered offhandedly.

Pete took another drag from his cigar. “Us too. This place has aged surprisingly well.”

I raised a brow. “The wallpaper is peeling off, the furniture is broken, and there’s dust everywhere.” I shifted my weight, and as if to prove my point, the sofa cushion that I sat on let out an ear piercing squeak. “Remind me again how this place aged well?” 

He chuckled. “True, true. All that may be true, but the main infrastructure of the building is still in pretty good condition. The plumbing still works, and the building itself is still pretty sturdy. The only thing you actually have to worry about is the roof and maybe the walls. Everything else can be fixed easily enough.”

I heard a soft click, and I realized that the water had long since shut off. Looking over at the staircase, I saw a black, puff of fur slowly float down. It took me a bit, but I realized that the ball of fur was _Grim_. He floated down, dropping into my lap like a stone as he stared at me dead in the eye. “You know...The Great Grim fears no being, but him-“ He shuddered. “He scares me.”

Cue Walter, drifting down the stairs, completely unperturbed. His hair was neatly combed, his clothes were unruffled, and he looked ready for the runway. He looked over at us, rolling the cuffs of his sleeves back down to his wrist as he gestured towards Grim and I. “What are you two still doing dawdling about? Get a move on. You’re the handymen of the school now, right? Get going!”

I chuckled, raising both hands up in a placating manner. “Well, that’s one way to kick us out. C’mon Grim, lets go.”

For once, Grim had no complaints, he simply murmured something about his life flashing before his eyes as he curled himself around my neck. The poor cat. I’d have to cash in his tuna cans from Crowley at some point today. Turning back around to face the trio of ghosts, I shot them a bright smile, waving them goodbye. “Thanks for helping us out! See you in a bit!”  
————————————————-  
The door clicked shut, signifying that Eve had left. Walter hummed, casually leaning on the kitchen countertop as he looked over at Pete. “It’s been quite a while since a human was able to speak to us like that.”

Pete chuckled, letting the smoke in his mouth drift out. “It’s been quite a while since a human spoke to us at all.”

The pair watched as the smoke drifted around, forming elegant swoops and swirls in the air. “She’s quite the odd one, getting used to us so quickly,” Walter huffed. “You’d think that she’d be a bit more cautious around us.”

“Well, she doesn’t seem recognize us, so there’s that.”

“But who would? Our names are practically erased from history. I meant that I thought she’d be more cautious around strangers in general.”

The two turned their gaze to Mimsy as she sat on the sofa, staring out the window with a vacant expression. It was a jarring contrast to her usual energetic self. “Mimsy? You’ve been awfully quiet. What’s on your mind?”

She didn’t respond.

Walter laughed. “That’s new. I never thought I’d see the day when you didn’t have anything to say.” It didn’t take a mind reader to see that he was concerned though. Even Pete was carefully watching her out of the corner of his eye.

It was unusual to see Mimsy in such a state and, although Walter wouldn’t admit it, he was a tad concerned for her. Through a series of plots, mishaps, and chance, the trio found themselves eternally bound to this damned campus, stuck with only each other for comfort. Like it or not, spending that much time with the two made him incredibly sensitive to their emotions and general mood, bringing him back to his current predicament. A quiet Mimsy was an unpredictable Mimsy, and an unpredictable Mimsy was one of the very few things in the world that could make Walter feel antsy.

“She reminds me of myself, but different.”

Walter blinked, snapping out of his uncharacteristic daze. “...Pardon?”

“Eve’s different.” Mimsy turned her head around, a slow smile spreading across her face. 

“I can’t wait to see what she does.”  
**————————————————-  
Eve: DEFYYYYYING GRAAAVITY!!**

**Eve: Wait, that’s not a good thing.**

**Mimsy: OwO**

**Walter: ÒwÓ**

**Pete: UwU**

**Crowley: I have arrived!**

**Crowley: I have left!**

**Wally: I’m responsible, so I’ll explain stuff.**

**Mimsy: I’m not! So I won’t!**

**Pete: I’m just. Here. I make sure that the other two don’t kill each other.**

**Mimsy: Dress up time!**

**Mimsy: Plot stuff, I can’t spoil anything, sorry.**

**Grim: IM DYING-**

**Walnut: Lol no. Get clean you cat. Take a shower. Basic hygiene.**

**Pete and Mimsy: Ghost stuff. House stuff.**

**Wallet: Leave. Be responsible. Don’t die.**

**Eve: Imma skeet.**

**Wall, Pete, and Mimsy: OooOoOoO additional plot stuff.**

**Bonus:**

**Pete: LuNg CaNcEr-**

**(Please don’t put unnecessary stuff into your lungs. Even if you’re a ghost.)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, this chapter came completely out of the left field. I was gearing up to introduce Ace, when suddenly BAM! Mimsy brain rot. Ghost trio brain rot. Do the ghosts get actual personalities in canon? Oh well.
> 
> Anyways, here’s what Eve looks like in school uniform. I know that Mimsy let Eve borrow her skirt, but let’s be real, Eve totally snagged a pair of pants from Walter’s closet or something afterwards. [Eve in School Uniform](https://ukiyo22.tumblr.com/post/639207896376377344/if-i-look-busy-then-maybe-theyll-leave-me)


	9. Ooh, Roasted!!

Grim and I surprisingly made it to Main Street without any problems.

With our track record, I half expected us to get dragged into a whole side adventure, complete with a damsel in distress and everything, but nope, nothing. Of course, we got lost here and there on account of my horrid navigation skills and Grim’s somewhat infuriating lack of cooperation, but after a bit of struggling, we finally made it to Main Street.

“Uwoaah~! Incredible! So this is Main Street…” Grim zipped around like an energetic child, never lingering in the same spot for more than a couple seconds. His ears flickered a light blue as he soared around, examining everything that the street had to offer. 

I nodded in agreement. “It really is stunning.” I remembered walking past it when Crowley led me to the dorms, but it was so dark that I simply wrote it off as one of the many paths on campus. Now that I was looking at it in broad daylight, I could see that Main Street was gorgeous. Everything looked brand new, from the stone brick street that paved the way for the students, to the lush, green forest surrounding it. In fact, it looked so new that I had no idea what Crowley expected us to clean. The entire street was practically sparkling. 

Grim tugged on my blazer, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I didn’t get a good look yesterday, but what’s with all these statues? All seven of them look pretty scary.” He pointed to a statue of a woman in a poofy ball gown. “This granny looks especially snobby.”

“You don’t know about the Queen of Hearts?” A new voice asked. I turned around, coming face to face with another student. He had ruffled orange hair that gently curled upwards at the tips, defying gravity as it framed his bright red eyes. Over the corner of his eye, just above his right cheekbone was a red heart. That was an odd place to have a tattoo, but compared to my entire situation, it wasn’t too strange. His entire appearance looked messy, from his wrinkled dress shirt, to his slightly rumpled blazer, but it somehow looked good on him. It was a ‘I just rolled out of bed, but I look ready to model in a magazine’ kind of look.

“The Queen of Hearts?” I shook my head. “I can’t say I do, but she sounds familiar… Is she important?”

He nodded vigorously, gesturing to the stone statue. “In the past, she was the queen who lived in the Rose Maze. She was someone who valued rules and discipline above all, strict in everything from the march of the Card Soldiers, to the color of the rose bushes. It was a land of madness where all submitted to her rule. Why, you ask?” His lips formed a vicious smirk as he dragged his thumb across his throat. “Because otherwise it was off with your head!” 

I rubbed the back of my neck. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

Grim nodded, shuddering as he shrunk back into himself. “Agreed. That’s terrifying…!”

“Nah, it’s cool! I like it.” The boy shrugged as turned back around to face us. “Nobody would listen to a Queen who’s just nice all the time, right?”

At that, Grim wavered, his eyes flicking back towards the Queen of Hearts’ statue. “I suppose...A strong leader is better I guess.”

“But there’s a fine line between being strict and being tyrannical.” I slowly reached a hand up to my throat, the intrusive image of my head rolling on the ground vivid in my mind. “Imagine getting your head chopped off simply because you got the color of the rose bushes wrong. Just because someone is a strict leader, doesn’t mean that they’re a good one.”

Grim was quick to wave me off with a scoff. “Don’t mind my henchman here, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” I rolled my eyes at the unwelcome nickname. Grim and I really needed to have another talk about that. “Actually, who are you anyways?” He continued. 

The boy grinned. “I’m Ace. A fresh-faced first year. Nice to meetcha!”

Grim crossed his arms over his chest, a haughty smirk crossing his face. “I’m the Great Grim, a genius who’ll become the world’s greatest magician!” He gestured towards me. “This dimwit over here is Eve. She serves me as my underling!” 

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest as I shot the feline a half-hearted glare. I knew I promised myself that I would try and take it easy on him, but it was awfully hard to feel any sympathy for anyone when they kept insulting you.

Suddenly, an idea struck me. Pulling a page from Grim’s book, I mimicked his smug grin, pushing the cat aside as I stuck out a hand to Ace. “Ignore the talking cat, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’m Evangeline, Evangeline Liaz, underling and henchman to no one. Nice to meet you!” 

Grim let out an indignant, overly dramatic huff, turning on his heel as he floated off to sulk in silence. 

**Eve: 1**

**Talking Cat: 0**

Ace grabbed my hand, giving me a firm hand shake as he looked me up and down. “You’ve got an odd sounding name y’know.”

Raising an eyebrow, I copied him, looking him up and down. “Says the man named after a playing card.” I shot back playfully.

He snickered, his eyes lighting up mirthfully as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Touché.”

“Hey, Ace.” Grim had recovered from his huffy episode, waving us over to the next statue as he peered at it with curious eyes. “The lion over there with the scar, are they famous too?”

And that’s how it went for the next fifteen minutes. Ace would give a brief description of each statue and then Grim would float to the next one, prompting the cycle to repeat. Each figure was hailed as a hero for their skills, and as Ace described their impressive achievements, I knew that I should have been impressed, that I should have been just as awed as Grim was, but they all rubbed me the wrong way. Every time I felt something even remotely positive, it was immediately overpowered by a sense of disgust, both at myself and the statues, like my subconscious was scolding me for being impressed by them.

As Ace finally wrapped up his summary of the last statue, he sighed dreamily, a huge grin lighting his face up as he stared at the statues in admiration. “They’re all so cool~!” Something in his smile shifted. “Unlike a certain raccoon.” 

Grim blinked a couple times, confusion flooding his eyes before the insult finally registered in his mind. “Huh?!” 

Ace hid his face behind his hand, small chuckles leaving his lips. They slowly grew in volume and intensity until he was practically doubled over with laughter. “I can’t take it anymore! Ahahahaha!” He straightened back up, his shoulders still shaking with giggles as he pointed at the two of us. “Aren’t you guys the ones who went crazy at the entrance ceremony?”

Any goodwill I felt towards Ace immediately took a nosedive, exploding into a fiery mess in the pit of my stomach as he brought up the dreaded event. I wasn’t quite sure where he was trying to go with the conversation, but it couldn’t be anything good. I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms across my chest as I stared him down. “What about it?”

Ace leered at me with a shit-eating grin, his eyes taunting me as he stepped closer. “You were summoned by the Dark Mirror, even though you’re just a girl, and you-” He jabbed a finger towards Grim. “-you weren’t even called, but you still decided to trespass on college property and set fire to everything.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, somehow making the simple gesture seem mocking as he chuckled. “Yeahh, it took everything I had not to lose it at the ceremony.”

“Ehhh?! That’s uncalled for!” Grim’s ear flames were a couple shades darker than normal, signaling me that it was time to pack it up and leave before he did something rash. 

I strode past Ace, pulling Grim along with me as I flipped the red-eyed male off. “Grim, calm down. Leave the prick alone and take the high road.” I muttered. In any other case, I would’ve done more than just flip him off, but since Grim was present, staying any longer than necessary was basically _asking_ for another case of arson.

“And what are you two doing now huh? There’s no way the principal would let you attend this school, so what are you? Janitors?” Ace quipped. 

I froze. I knew that he was just making fun of us, but he hit the nail on the head. I reached deep within myself, tapping into my pool of patience. Not today. I can’t let him get to me. Maybe tomorrow, but not today. Grim on the other hand, had no such patience. He was completely riled up now, his flames flickering a deep navy blue as he glared daggers at Ace, his tail thrashing back and forth through the air. I tightened my grip on Grim, not enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention. “Grim.” I muttered quietly.

For once, I could relate to Grim’s anger. I too, wanted nothing more than to clock Ace in the jaw, but I knew that it would only cause more trouble for us down the line.

“On top of that, you don’t even know about the Great Seven. How ignorant can you be? I recommend you go back to kindergarten before coming to Night Raven College.” Ace scoffed, his eyes lighting up with a sadistic glee as he walked up to us. “I’d thought I’d just mess with you a bit, but you really blew my expectations away! Now if you’ll excuse me, I actually have classes to attend. Have fun being dunces, you two!”

I gritted my teeth, a ball of white hot anger boiling in my throat as I watched Ace walk past us. His hands were in his pockets, whistling a cheerful tune as he skipped away. The _nerve_ of this douchebag. Glaring at the ground, I took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out in a stuttered sigh. It was no use trying to go after him now. It was unlikely that the orange-haired prick would actually apologize, so I wouldn’t waste my time trying to force out an insincere apology from him.

Grim however, was completely infuriated, baring his teeth in a feral snarl as he ripped himself out of my grasp. “That jerk! He’s just gonna say that and leave?!” He threw his arms up in that scarily familiar motion, and before I could even tell him to stand down, electric blue flames had already leapt up, surrounding the three of us in a fiery circle. “I’m gonna teach this jerk a lesson or two!”

The flames lashed out towards Ace, forcing him to stumble back, a horrified yelp escaping him. “Woah, watch out! What’re you doing?!”

“It’s what you get for making fun of us!” Grim’s eyes sparked with malice as more flames began to leap up, weaving around each other in an elegant, deadly dance. “I’m gonna light up that dumb head of yours!”

“Dumb head, huh?” Ace’s surprise faded away as he strode up to Grim, a confident grin on his face. “What’re you gonna do you puffy, toy-poodle? Give me a little burn? And you,” He turned to face me, eyes narrowed. “You really got guts for picking a fight with me.”

I pointed to myself, both of my eyebrows shooting up in surprise as I stared incredulously at Ace. “Me? Incorrect, I never said anything like that! Grim, please, let’s go.”

I was internally slamming my head against a desk. Crowley gave me one job, and it was to keep Grim in line. Well, it was two if you counted cleaning Main Street, but now wasn’t the time for technicalities. I had to stop them before they damaged the surrounding property, but if I got in the middle of their fight, I would undoubtedly end up as a splatter on the street. I had to hope that my desperate plea would be enough to de-escalate the fight and get Grim to back down.

It wasn’t.

“Ffgnya!” Grim spewed a column of fire at Ace, causing me to recoil back from the sudden heat. Surprisingly, Ace didn’t seem bothered at all, dodging the flames with ease as he counter attacked with a mighty gust of wind. I could feel myself sliding back against the path, but thankfully, my heels had some traction against the stone brick path. Grim wasn’t so lucky. He was sent flying at least ten feet back, pushed away by the brunt force of the wind. Once the wind blew by though, Grim recovered almost immediately, zipping back to his original position and sending multiple fiery attacks right back at Ace. However, like before, they were all redirected by Ace’s wind. Grim gritted his teeth, curling his paws into small fists. “This guy is blowing wind all over the place! My fire gets all twisted up!”

I opened my mouth, ready to tell him to stand down, but quickly shut it. The fight had already escalated too far and there was a very low chance that Grim would listen to reason. What could I do to stop the fight? I could try to help Grim take down Ace, but that would require my direct involvement and I’d rather not have assault on my record. What if I pulled Grim out of the fight? Theoretically, that would be the best option, but not only would I have to deal with his complaints about letting Ace slip away, the orange haired prick would no doubt go around the entire college, smugly gloating about his victory. He definitely didn’t need the ego boost. Was there really nothing I could do?

“What’s this? A fight?”

I blinked, whipping my head towards the new voice. As if things couldn’t possibly get any worse, I realized, with a gnawing pit of dread in my stomach, that a large crowd of students had formed around us. Some were placing bets, exchanging money from hand to hand with each attack, while others egged the fighters on, cheering for their respective side.

“Yeah, get ‘em!”

“Roast him alive!”

Their cheers went directly to Ace’s ego. “A flimsy little fire like that won’t hit me. Try a bit harder you raccoon!” He taunted.

“What did you say?!” Grim shrieked indignantly. “I’ll make you eat your words, you tangerine lookin’ jerk!!” He began to charge up an enormous sphere of fire, pooling all of his magic into it until it was nearly twice my height.

No, absolutely not. Future repercussions be damned, I would _not_ stand idly by and watch Grim light someone on fire in front of me. I reached out, ready to grab Grim’s tail and yank him back down to Earth, but I froze, my fingers just a centimeter away from him. Did I really want to stop him though? Ace was able to redirect all of his fire so far, and if I was being honest, Ace was a supreme douche of the highest caliber. It would be incredibly satisfying to knock him down a peg.

That brief moment of hesitation was enough for Grim to finish charging up his attack. “Eat this!” The giant, blazing sphere was sent flying towards Ace, but somehow, even at point blank range, Grim still managed to miss him. Instead of hitting its intended target, it swerved to the side, slamming into a statue and exploding in a fiery mess.

What was the statue’s name? The Queen of Hearts? Spades? Either way, it had been completely engulfed in a sea of cerulean flames. As they cleared away, I hissed in a breath as I stared at the damaged statue. The once majestic queen had been charred a deep black, causing large and small cracks alike to run across its ruined surface. The painstaking detail etched onto her were now nothing more than lines on a hunk of rock as they merged with the new cracks, forming spiderweb like patterns on her face. “Aw shit, that ain’t good.” I muttered. 

Ace was considerably more panicked than I was, letting out a horrified scream as he tried to stomp out the nearby embers that flickered on the grass. “Crap, crap, crap! The Queen of Hearts’ statue is charred!”

“It’s cause you were blowin’ the fire around!” Grim shot back. “Just stay still and let me fry you already!” 

“You really think someone is just gonna stand still and let you fry them?!”

“Enough!! Just what is going on here?!” Oh. Oh no. I recognized that infuriated voice all too well. I slowly turned around to face the crowd of students and just as I predicted, there stood Crowley, looking absolutely enraged as he stared the three of us down.

“Gah! The headmaster…” Ace grimaced.

Grim immediately flew into a panic. “He’s gonna tie us up with the ‘Lash of Love’! Get outta here!” The two barely had the chance to flee before they were both restrained, the dreaded Lash of Love coiling around their bodies tightly.

“Oooow!”

“Ffgyaaa! It hurts just as much the second day in a row!”

Crowley scoffed. “It’ll be another hundred years before you can outrun me! I told you just yesterday to not cause any trouble, didn’t I?! I turn my back for a second and you go and char the statues of the Great Seven!” He lowered his head, causing his tophat to cast an eerie shadow across his narrow, yellow eyes. “I very much would like to see you all expelled.” 

My anxiety immediately spiked as I let out a small noise of distress. If I was expelled, the chances of finding a way home would fall from slim to impossible. I couldn’t let that happen under any circumstance.

Ace seemed to be just as panicked as I was, his eyes widening as his brash cockiness faded away. “Wait! Not that!”

Crowley ignored his desperate cry, his yellow eyes swiveling over to my stiff form. “And you, this is not how you supervise Grim.”

I moved on instinct, lowering my head as I clasped my hands together. “I’m sorry Headmaster.” He was being considerably less harsh towards me than he was towards Ace and Grim, but I couldn’t get my hopes up. Until I knew for certain that I was in the clear, I would have to play the good kid card to the max.

Crowley stared at me for just a bit longer before letting out a long winded sigh. “My goodness… You.” He turned to face Ace, eyes boring into the orange haired male. “What’s your grade and name?”

Ace immediately stiffened, straightening his posture. “Ace Trappola, first year.”

“Then Trappola, Grim, and Liaz. As punishment, I order the three of you to wash a hundred windows around campus!” Crowley declared. Despite the harsh punishment, I perked up, lifting my gaze from the ground. We weren’t going to be expelled? A rush of relief flooded through me, relaxing my tense body. 

Grim was anything but relieved, thrashing around in his restraints. “Huuh?! It’s all ‘cause this joker was making fun of us!”

“You were the one that set that statue on fire!!” Ace looked back towards Crowley, his face twisted into a desperate expression. “Do I really have to clean the windows too?!”

“Most definitely! After school, meet in the cafeteria. Understood?” Crowley’s tone left no room for arguments and reluctantly, the two nodded.

“Fiiine…”

“Tch. Yes sir...”

Crowley turned to the crowd of students, most of which had fallen silent as they watched the debacle unfold. “Students, off with you! Get to your classes!” Instantly, they all fled, turning heel and running away, not wanting to incur the terrifying Headmasters wrath.

Crowley released Grim and Ace from his lash. “Go on and get where you need to go. I expect those windows to be sparkling.”

Ace gratefully took the out and left, speed walking his way to class, leaving just the three of us in Main Street.

Crowley stared at the two of us for an uncomfortably long time. During those silent moments, not a single word was uttered, but the overwhelming disappointment in Crowley’s eyes was enough to make me fidget around in my spot. Finally, Crowley broke the silence. “Please clean up Main Street. I expect it to be spotless by the end of the evening.”

I hissed in a breath, rubbing the back of my neck as I glanced off to the side. “Well, that might be a problem.”

“How so?”

“You never gave us any cleaning supplies.”

Crowley blinked, his stern demeanor evaporating right in front of my eyes. “Ah...I forgot about that…”  
**————————————————-  
Grim: Woah, pretty street! Now what’s this statue?**

**Ace: I have arrived for your perfectly timed expositional monologue about our historical figures!**

**Eve: Jokes on you, I don’t like any of them!**

**Ace: Jokes on you, I don’t like either of you!**

**Grim: *offended noise***

**Eve: Calm down.**

**Ace: *breathes***

**Grim: *doubly offended noise***

**Grim: Murder.**

**Eve: Well no, but actually yes.**

**Grim: Oh right, I can’t aim. At all.**

**Crowley: EXPELLED!**

**Crowley: But because I’m so gracious, you just have to clean a hundred windows.**

**Eve: Works for me.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Edits Made 9/2/20)


	10. Be Our Guest! (Sunday’s Only)

We never actually found the cleaning supplies, so Crowley left us with a strict ~~threat~~ warning to behave ourselves or else we would be expelled. No more chances. 

I dutifully nodded, shooting Grim a small glance to make sure that he agreed as well. Satisfied that we understood him, Crowley, with a dramatic flourish of his cape, excused himself to go finish his duties. 

That left Grim and I with over five hours to kill before we met up with Ace to wash the windows. If I learned in those long, long five hours, it’s that Grim gets bored. Easily. 

“Hey, hey human.” We were currently sitting on the bench beneath the apple tree with three hours left to spare. The other two had been spent exploring the school to get our bearings, and if I was being completely honest, it didn’t help us at all. The castle was so massive that neither of us could figure out where anything was located at all. 

I glanced over at the cat, a flat expression on my face. “What?”

“I’m booooored~!” He whined. “Do something entertaining for me, would ya’?”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?”

“Well actually-“

I placed a finger on his mouth, hushing him. “That was not an offer, that was sarcasm. I will not make a fool of myself for your entertainment.”

Grim huffed, his tail flicking around in irritation as he crossed his arms. “You’re no fun.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “And you are? Last I checked, your definition of fun was setting fire to property that doesn’t belong to you. Dunno about you, but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal on more levels than one.”

Grim waved his paw around, throwing himself onto my lap like I was some kind of glorified pillow. “Illegal, shme-egal. You humans just can’t comprehend my greatness.”

I scoffed, gently flicking his forehead with my thumb and pointer finger. “Says the cat who can’t hit someone right in front of him. Honestly, of all the things you had to hit, you went for the historically sentimental statue. The orange prick was right there buddy, I don’t know how you could’ve missed him.”

Grim shot up from his sitting position, a flustered frown on his face. “I-it was because he redirected it! I would never miss a target, even if I was blindfolded!” He sputtered out. 

I nodded. “Yes. Totally. That’s what happened. Mhm. Agreed.”

“I mean it! The Great Grim never misses! Even-“

“Hey, let’s play a game.” I interjected.

Grim blinked. “W-what?”

That was fast. I half expected him to keep rambling about his infallible aim. “It’s called the quiet game. Humans have been masters at this game since the dawn of time, so if you’re so great, I dare you to beat me.”

Grim harrumphed, plopping himself back down onto the bench as he crossed his arms, looking at me with what I assume was supposed to be a look of indifference. “Proceed.”

“There’s one rule. Whoever stays silent the longest, wins.”

“That’s the game? Just staying silent?” Grim scoffed. “That’s so boring. I thought humans were more creative than that.”

“Oh? What’s that? Did I just hear someone who’s afraid to lose to a human talk?” I looked around, theatrically exaggerating my movements as if I were performing for a child. “Man, I was looking forward to seeing the Great Grim in action too. Guess I’ll take the win and-“

“No way!” Grim shook his head, jabbing his paw at me as he glared me down, determination blazing in his eyes. “I’ll play your game, human! You can bet that I’ll beat you and take the win!”

I smiled. “Then let the quietest win.”

————————————————-

Miracle of miracles, Grim actually stayed silent for the three hours. I had a sneaking suspicion that he had dozed off for at least part of it, but I couldn’t ask him without forfeiting the win, so I kept silent. I could ask him later.

Loud bells chimed, shaking me out of my thoughts. That’s our cue. Poking Grim in the cheek, I pointed to the hallway, signaling him to get up and start moving. He shot me a knowing glare, but didn’t make a sound as he floated off the bench. We began to make our way to the Cafeteria, a difficult task considering that neither of us knew where the damn thing was. After running into many dead ends, and holding far too many arguments consisting of silent glares, we finally found it.

A quick glance at the nearby clock told me that it was about 4:10. Gesturing over at the closest table, we both sat down, wordlessly agreeing to wait for Ace to show up. It was honestly quite boring. I never thought I’d find silence boring, but for once in my life, instead of the constant stress of grades and responsibilities buzzing around my head, it was completely silent. 

Grim leaned back, bobbing around in the air like a boat in the ocean as he stared holes through the ticking clock. “That Ace guy sure is taking his sweet time.” He muttered. “Who does he think he is, making us wait? I’m pissed..”

A small grin curled my lips up as I shot him a small finger gun. “I win.”

He froze in mid-air before quickly shooting upright to face me, his eyes wide with momentary panic as he waved both of his paws around. “Wait no, that wasn’t-“

“I heard you loud and clear, so it’s my win.” 

“No way! I-I took a time out!”

“Both you and I know that’s bull.”

Grim huffed, leaning back into his previous position with a scowl on his face. “Tch, fine. I’ll give you this win, but only because you’re so insistent on it. You can expect a rematch comin’ up soon though, and I’ll be the one to come out victorious, you hear me?”

I bit back a laugh, barely concealing the smile on my face as I gave him a mock salute. “Ten-four, couldn’t be clearer.”

We fell into a companionable silence, but with each minute that crawled by, I could see Grim grow grumpier and grumpier, his pitchfork tail thumping rhythmically against the table until he finally decided that enough was enough. “I don’t care what happened, this is too late!!” Grim suddenly froze, the fire in his ears stilling with him as he slowly turned around to look at me. “He wouldn’t just skip out, right?!”

I glanced off to the side. “That… knowing that jerkwad, he probably would.”

“I’m not gonna let him get away with making us do all the work!” Grim seethed. “Let’s go henchman! We’re gonna catch Ace and make him do all the window washing!” 

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to just do it ourselves? We could just rat him out later or something...” My message fell on deaf ears, or I guess the proper expression for this situation would be ‘no ears’ because Grim had already flown out of the Cafeteria, dead set on finding Ace. “Well damn, guess we’re going after him then.” I muttered.

I stood up and jogged after Grim, barely keeping pace with him. For such a small cat, he really could move when he wanted to. 

Grim suddenly swerved right, barging through a set of doors with a loud slam. “Where’s Ace?!” He demanded. “We’re not just gonna let you hide away you fiery headed jerk!” 

I poked my head into the room, an apology on the tip of my tongue, but thankfully, there was no one in the room. I sighed in relief. Thank god. I had no idea how I was supposed to justify an anthropomorphic cat kicking doors down as he wildly demanded to see a student. “There has to be a better way to do this. We can’t just slam open every door until we find him!”

“I believe that would be my cue!” My head whipped over to the source of the sound, only to find no one standing there. 

They cleared their throat. “Look up. I’m the painting.”

I glanced up and hanging on the wall was a.. wonky portrait. The man in the painting looked to be like someone from the 1800’s, but because of his exaggerated nose and comically large top hat, the painting seemed almost cartoonish. 

Now, I didn’t major in fine arts, but last I checked, paintings couldn’t talk, regardless of how they were painted. “What the fu-“

“Ffgyaaaaaa!” Grim nearly fell out of the air in shock, but the moment I blinked, he was somehow on the other end of the room, quivering as he pointed towards the portrait with a shaky paw. “The picture talked!!” 

“It’s not uncommon for paintings to talk at this school.” The painting scoffed. “The ‘Wall Lady’ over there, the ‘Wall Gentlemen’ over here, everyone here can speak.”

“Oh really?” I raised a brow. “Does the cutlery perform a nightly musical number too, or is that only on Fridays?”

“No, they perform their musical number on Sundays.” The painting glanced from side to side, lowering their voice. “But between us, you can catch the plates and napkins performing as an ensemble on Saturday evenings after the Cafeteria closes.”

I blinked. “Wait, seriously-“

“That aside, who are you looking for?” He continued.

I mentally stored away the tidbit of information to mull at later. Right now, I had to focus on finding Ace. “First year, Ace Trappola. He’s got a red heart over his right eye, orange hair that kind of defies gravity, and a really punchable face.”

The portrait chuckled. “Aaah, I know him. He’s one of the freshmen that started today. He went back to his dorm not too long ago I think...”

Grim zipped back from the other side of the room, his fear completely gone as his anger flared back up. “Whaaat?! So he _did_ try to get away! Which way did he go?!”

“The entrance is behind the East Building. I’d point you to it, but uhh..” The painting shrugged helplessly. “you know.”

“Hey henchman,” Grim tugged on my sleeve, pointing towards the doorway. “We’re going after him!” 

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Letting a suicidally impulsive cat with anger management issues run after a jerk wad of a human being who enables said anger issues didn’t seem like a wise idea, no matter which way I looked at it. The problem was the fact that in the less than twenty four hours that I had known Grim, once he was set on something, only a miracle, or some canned tuna would sway him, and I was fresh out of both. Besides, _someone_ had to make sure Grim wouldn’t burn another building down.

“Fine. Lead the way oh Great Grim.” I put as much sarcasm as I physically could into the sentence, but it didn’t seem to matter for Grim preened at the title all the same. 

I looked back over my shoulder, sending a small salute towards the painting as Grim dragged me out the door. “Thanks for your help!”

A faint “No problem!” rang out, but Grim and I were already out the door, hot on Ace’s trail.  
**————————————————-  
Grim: I’m bored.**

**Eve: Cool.**

**Grim: You’re boring.**

**Eve: And you suck at aiming.**

**Grim: I do not-**

**Eve: Let’s play a game.**

**Grim: I’m listening.**

**Grim: Ace is taking too long.**

**Eve: Agreed, but maybe wait just a bit longer.**

**Grim: Nah, we’re gonna go find him.**

**Eve: Well, guess we’re going with it.**

**Eve: Beauty and the Beast?**

**Painting: Beauty and the Beast.**

**Eve: Where’s Ace?**

**Painting: East.**

**Eve: Cool.**

**Grim: Let’s get him!!**

**Eve: My brain says no, but when have I ever listened to it?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m excited for the next chapter though! We get to drop a cauldron on Ace and finally meet Deuce!


	11. Everything Comes Crashing Down Eventually

Ace glanced back at the small castle in the distance, squinting against the harsh sunlight as he let out a small hum. “I think I’m far enough from campus.” 

He slowed his jog into a brisk walk, a devious smirk tugging at his lips as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Ditching those two was easier than he thought it’d be. “No way I’m washing a hundred windows with those losers,” he snickered. “I’m gonna head on home and-“ 

“Heeeey yooou!!” 

Ace’s grin slipped off his face, his body going rigid at the familiar voice. He didn’t need to turn around to see who it belonged to. That dumb cat’s voice was practically imprinted in his mind after what happened that morning. 

“You jerk!! I won’t let you be the only one to escape!” Grim shrilled.

Someone scoffed, although it could’ve been a wheeze from how out of breath they sounded. “Of course. No wonder you were so hell bent on finding him. I don’t-“ They took in a deep breath. “-I don’t know what else I expected from you.” 

They sounded familiar...who was that again? Oh right, it was the chick who hung around the cat. What was her name, Ava? Evie? Whatever it was, he could figure it out later. He had bigger problems to worry about.

————————————————-

“I’m not just gonna wait around for you two! I’m outta here!” Ace began to book it down the road, stopping briefly to turn around and stick his tongue out at us, more specifically at Grim, before continuing his escape.

Grim snarled, thoroughly riled up as his face contorted into an ugly expression of rage. “It’s not fair that only he gets to get out of it! I want to skip out too!” 

“Like hell you are! Just catch the guy and let’s-“ Grim zipped away from me mid-sentence, hot on Ace’s heels.

I stared at his shrinking form for a second, inhaling deeply as I silently cursed Grim and his Grim-ness before following after him.

Endurance was never my strong suit. I was more of a short-distance sprinter than a long-distance runner. The only thing that gave me fuel to keep running was the horrific thought of leaving Ace and Grim alone together for more than three seconds. Based on what happened earlier in the morning, they’d either end up burning another building down, or committing tax fraud. 

Probably both.

Grim and Ace made it into the building before I did, but by some miracle, I hadn’t fallen too far behind them. Sprinting past the open doors of the East Building, I almost fell on my face as I came to a screeching halt, eyes flitting around the room as I tried to figure out the new environment.

We were in a rounded room with seven mirrors, each sitting in their own nook with small, three-step staircases leading up to them. Decor-wise, they each had their own unique theme. One of them had an elegant, bronze border that curled around the delicate mirror like waves on a beach shore, while another had a playing card motif with small bronze hearts, spades, clovers, and diamonds forming a cluttered, yet neat border around the mirror.

A ravenette with a spade stamped near his right eye stood next to said mirror, staring at the three of us with wide, cerulean eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on. 

“Outta my way! Outta my way!!” Ace shouted. He was charging towards the mirror at full speed, his dress shoes clacking against the marble floor as he tried to wave the student aside. 

I wasn’t sure why Ace was headed towards that mirror and not any of the other unoccupied ones, but if he was that desperate to reach it, then it would be best to keep him away from the mirror until I figured out what it did.

Grim was too far away to do anything, (unless we counted arson as an option, and for the record, I didn’t.) and I wasn’t sure if I _could_ do anything in my exhausted condition, so that left only one person who could help. 

“Hey, pretty boy!” I pointed towards the ravenette. “Stop him!”

He looked over his shoulder, as if I were pointing to someone behind him before looking back at me, disbelief clearly written on his face. “M-me?!”

“Do you see anyone else?!” I shouted.

Thankfully, he didn’t argue with me. His eyes slid over to Ace as he began to run through a list of options. “Should I freeze his legs? No, how about restraining him? Wait, have I even learned how to do that yet? Uhm… what else can I do?!” 

I let out a tired noise that was a mix between a groan and a wheeze as I slapped a hand on my face, slumping against the smooth wall. Of all the people that could’ve been present, it just had to be an indecisive one. 

“Any way, I don’t care how!!” Grim shrieked. “Just hit him hard!” 

“Any way…” Something inside the ravenette steeled itself, a newfound determination blazing in his eyes as he pulled out a small pen with a crystal at the top, similar to the one Crowley used in the library. 

“Anything is fine, so come on!” He roared. With a confident flick of his wrist, he pointed the pen towards Ace. “Come forth, something heavy!”

There was a small white shimmer above Ace’s head. Without missing a beat, it began to expand, warping the very air around it as it formed a large, round object. Once it solidified, it floated there for a moment, frozen in time, before gravity finally took a hold and it dropped itself onto Ace’s head with a thunderous bang. 

I recoiled back from the sound, hissing in a breath as Ace’s body collapsed onto the ground, the cauldron toppling over with him and crushing him underneath its weight. “That’s.. one way to do it..”

Gathering up my strength, I pushed myself off of the wall and made my way over to Ace’s fallen body, Grim trailing just behind me. The first thing I noticed was that the cauldron wasn’t quite big enough to completely cover Ace’s body. It only covered his torso, leaving his head and lower body free to move about. Despite that, he was as still as a corpse. 

The morbid comparison caused an uncomfortable thought shoot through my mind. Was Ace dead? 

No.

He couldn’t be, right?

Looking over at Grim, I wasn’t surprised to see that he wasn’t concerned at all. Instead, he was doubled over, clutching his stomach as he cackled his tail off. “Gyahaha! Check it out! Ace is flat as a pancake under that cauldron! So lame!”

The ravenette furrowed his eyebrows, a small frown on his lips. He knocked on the cauldron, resulting in a hollow, metallic sound that bounced around the cavernous room as he stared at the metal object in awe. “I didn’t think I’d get a cauldron… did I overdo it?”

I slowly craned my neck around to face him. “Did you overdo it...?” I echoed. “Buddy. Pal. Chum. Friend. Amigo. Listen, you just dropped a _cauldron_ on this guy’s _head_. I think the better question is: ‘Where do you want to hide the body?’”

Just as I uttered the last syllable, Ace let out a small groan, rubbing his head with his free hand as he cracked an eye open, squinting up at us. “Ugh… that hurt..”

“Huh, what do you know, he’s alive...” I blinked. “Wait a minute, he’s alive!” 

Ace made a small noise at the back of his throat. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you just got a cauldron dropped onto your head! You should be unconscious!” I screeched. 

Ok, calm down. I was getting far too worked up. Ace was ~~regrettably~~ alive, and Deuce, Grim, and I weren’t going to be convicted of manslaughter. Everything was just peachy.

I took a deep breath in and out, my disturbed expression melting into one of indifference as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, you’re awake now. At least this means Grim and I can finally drag you to go wash the windows with us.”

Ace sputtered out something incoherent, his eyes flying wide open as he stared at me. “Weren’t you just acting all concerned for me?!”

I shrugged. “Yeah, but you're not dead, so I don’t really care anymore.” 

Technically, I wasn’t completely lying. I did care, my still racing heart was more than enough proof, but at the same time, I had the indescribable urge to drop another cauldron on his face. 

Ace scoffed, rolling his eyes as he tried to push the cauldron off of his chest. “Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Y’know, while you three are standing there, could you get this damn thing off of me?!” 

Grim landed onto the ground, poking Ace’s cheek with a sharp claw as he scowled down at him. “Not until you do your part and help us clean the windows!” 

“You should be fine!” Ace grunted. “Those hundred windows should be clean in a flash!” 

“Washing a hundred windows as punishment…” The other student murmured. “What in the world did you all do?”

Ace sighed, letting his arms fall back to the ground as he waved a hand around flippantly. “I got into it a bit with that fur ball and we might have charred the Queen of Hearts’ statue a bit.”

“A bit?” I snorted. “That thing was burnt from head to toe. I don’t know what you mean ‘a bit’.”

Ace lifted his head off the ground, shooting me a scathing glare. “You’re not making it sound any better! Besides, you’re just as guilty as we are!”

I scoffed, mimicking his flippant handwave as I turned away from his sharp glare. “The only thing I’m guilty of is not giving a damn.”

The ravenette looked between the two of us, an incredulous expression on his face. “How are you all so casual about it?! You damaged one of the Great Seven statues! That’s definitely something people would get angry with!” He shook his head. “You get into a prestigious school and then do something like that on the first day…”

Ace glanced off to the side, a flustered pout on his face as he let out a small huff. “...Shuddup. Who are you to be scolding us anyways huh?” He shot back. 

The student crossed his arms, an unimpressed frown pulling at his lips as he stared down at Ace. “I’m Deuce. Deuce Spade. Would it hurt to at least remember your classmate’s face…” He trailed off, refusing to make eye contact with either of us as he realized his situation. 

Ace snickered, that irritating smirk of his crossing his face as he shot Deuce a teasing look. “You haven’t remembered mine either, have you?”

Deuce looked away, covering his mouth with a gloved hand as he let out an awkward cough. “A-anyways, if you were punished by the headmaster, that means you must take it seriously!” 

It was a sad attempt to redirect the conversation, but much to my surprise, Ace didn’t point it out. “Yeah, yeah, understood. Let’s get it done and over with then.” 

Deuce pointed his pen towards Ace, de-summoning the cauldron before tucking it back into his blazer. Ace, now free from his metal prison, took a moment to take in a deep breath, letting it out in a satisfied sigh as he stood up, dusting off his blazer and pants before turning to look at me. “Lead the way then Ms. Killjoy.”

I squinted at him in suspicion, making no move to leave as an uncomfortable silence filled the air. 

Oh, he was serious. 

Letting out a sharp bark of laughter, I waved a hand in front of me as I fixed Ace with an amused gaze. “Nonono, hold on. Was this all it took to get you to listen?” I looked towards Deuce. “A pretty guy?” 

I scoffed, sending Ace a bemused smile as I carded a hand through my hair. “Man, remind me to pull him over the next time I have to deal with you.”

Deuce erupted into a bright red that could rival Ace’s eyes as he stuttered out various syllables, attempting, and failing, to refute my claim. 

Ace on the other hand, managed to conceal his embarrassment far better than Deuce did, but the forced laugh that he choked out gave him away. “It wasn’t _just_ Deuce that convinced me! I figured that I should just cut my losses and-“

“Just? So you admit that Deuce had a part to play in convincing you.”

“No I don’t! I was just saying- I never-“ Ace was as red as his vest at this point, stumbling over his words as he tried to come up with a good retort. “You can’t just- whatever! I don’t have to justify myself to you.” He huffed.

I snickered. “Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Ace’s embarrassed scowl deepened as I tossed his words back in his face, but he bit his tongue, swallowing back whatever he was about to shoot back at me.

Pulling out my douchiest grin, I patted Ace’s shoulder, staring him dead in the eyes. “Don’t mess with people without expecting them to bite back.” I whispered. 

“Speaking of which, I’m surprised Grim didn’t butt in-” I froze. Why didn’t Grim butt in? Knowing him, he’d take any chance to poke fun at Ace.

Deuce tilted his head, the red flush in his face almost completely gone as he looked around the room. “Grim? Is that the-“

“No, no. Shh.” I looked around the room, a pit of anxiety rolling around my stomach as I realized that the feline was no longer in the room. “Where did Grim go?” 

Ace snapped to attention, swiveling his head around as he scanned the room. “Dammit, the furball’s gone! That dumb cat, he made me take his place!!” 

He turned to face Deuce. “Hey! Uhh- Juice?”

Deuce made an irked noise. “My name isn’t Juice! It’s Deuce! ‘Deu’!”

I nodded, a serious frown on my face. “Ah yes, Goose.”

“No, Deuce!”

“Moose.”

“Deuce!”

“Caboose.”

Deuce stared at me for a second before he let out a long-winded sigh. “You’re not even trying anymore, are you?”

I cracked a smile. “Whatever gave you the impression that I was ever trying?” 

“Whatever your name is-“ Ace interjected. “You gotta help us too! You’re partly responsible for this!” He grabbed Deuce’s arm and sprinted to the exit, dragging the poor boy out of the building before he could even say a word. I quickly followed after them. 

Outside of the East Building, the ground was gently tilted upwards towards the castle, but aside from that, there wasn’t anything obscuring our vision. Of course, the fact that we couldn’t find Grim, even with these favorable conditions did nothing to improve our mood. 

“Hey,” Deuce muttered,“what if he went across the cliff?”

I paused, slowly turning to look at the ledge with a blank stare. What if he went across the cliff? It was about twenty feet away from us with a steep slope, and a long, long drop. I had no clue how far we’d have to jump to reach the other side, but I doubted that we’d be able to make it regardless. 

Ace grimaced, seemingly reaching the same conclusion that I had. “We’d never get him.” 

The breeze blew by, filling the silence with a gentle whoosh as I closed my eyes and tilted my head skyward. Please, please, _please_ don’t tell me he actually flew across the cliff. I don’t have the time or energy to go on a cat-hunt today.

At that exact moment, I heard a small clack from behind me. My eyes snapped open and I whirled around just a dark shadow leapt from the roof of the building. It soared over me, shielding my eyes from the Sun for a split second. In that second, I could see two things. The shadow had four legs, all of them outstretched as it leapt through the air, and it had a black and white bow-tie. 

No doubt, it was Grim. He began to fall through the air, but instead of landing onto the ground, he slowed his descent, using the speed from his free fall to zoom through the skies. 

“Oh my god, there he is!” I screeched. 

As if he could hear me, Grim turned around, sticking his tongue out at us in a clear challenge. _Catch me if you can!_

The three of us went on a wild goose chase after Grim. It was honestly the most exhausting thing I had ever done, but after sprinting up flights of stairs, down stone paths, bursting through a pair of doors, and running through a couple of hallways, we managed to corner him in the cafeteria.

Well, ‘cornered’ was too generous. Despite trapping him in the room, Grim was still able to flit around, weaving around us with surprising speed. He flew up to the hanging chandelier, sitting himself onto the metal arms with a conceited sneer as he stared down at us. “Heheh! Try and catch me up here, suckers!” 

Ace clenched his hands into fists, shaking them up at Grim in fury. “Getting on the chandelier is an underhanded move!” 

I had to agree with him there. I was one step away from just chucking a shoe at Grim, knocking him out, and calling it a day. Glancing back down at the two males, I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying my best to keep my cool. “Ok, do we have any ideas on how to get Grim down from there? Preferably without alerting the teachers and staff that we let him up there in the first place.”

Deuce hummed. “Well, haven’t learned the magic to fly yet… We also need a way to get up there and grab him…” 

He continued to ramble on, muttering to himself like a madman as he skimmed his mental list of ways to get Grim down. Suddenly, he perked up, his eyes brightening with what I hoped was an ingenious plan. “I’ve got it!”

He reached into his blazer and pulled out his magical pen, pointing it at Ace in a familiar motion. Ace had the brains to immediately back a step away from him, waving both of his hands in front of him as if it would deter Deuce from his plan. “Woah, woah, woah! Wait a sec- why are you pointing your pen at me?!!” 

“I’ll throw you up there!!”

I blinked, a disbelieving smile lighting my face up as I looked over at Deuce. “I’m sorry, _what_ did you say?” 

This wasn’t WWE! Hell, last I checked, even pro wrestlers never threw each other at chandeliers!

“Haha..! Very funny!” Ace tried to plaster on a smile, but the way his voice shook betrayed his true emotions. “You’re joking, right??” 

Deuce didn’t respond. Instead, he flicked his pen upwards and Ace began to slowly float up. “Wooahhaa!! Stop it! Put me down!”

My gaze was fixated on Ace as he drifted up higher and higher, only shifting towards Deuce for a brief moment as I felt my palms grow clammy. “This can’t be a good idea..” I muttered.

Ace was thrashing around, flailing his limbs around in a vain attempt to escape from Deuce’s magic. “Are you really gonna throw me?!” He hollered. His gaze met mine, and in that brief moment, I saw a spark of hope flash in his eyes. “Hey, you! Tell him to knock it off!”

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The morally correct side of me wanted to beg Deuce to reconsider, to follow a different course of action. The other side of me, the petty side of me, wanted Deuce to throw Ace as hard as he could. After all, it was partially his fault for landing us in this situation in the first place… Besides, Deuce could just catch him afterwards, so no harm, no foul.

I shook my head, mustering up the fakest smile that I could. “Never mind, this is a great idea! Deuce, throw him!” 

Deuce nodded solemnly. “Two to one. You better get him, alright?”

I nodded as well, mirroring his serious expression as I stared Ace, a sadistic sort of glee glinting in my eyes. “You heard him, you better grab Grim!”

The matter was settled and before Ace could even get a word out, Deuce muttered a couple of words and he went sailing through the air.

I chucked, watching as he flailed through the air, an impressive repertoire of curses leaving his mouth in a panicked frenzy. “That just made my day so much better.” 

Ace crashed into the chandelier, causing the entire metal fixture to swing precariously to the side. Grim let out a surprised cry at the sudden shift, waving his arms around as he tried to regain his balance. Seizing the opportunity, Ace pulled himself forward and grabbed Grim by the scruff of his neck, looping his hand through his collar for good measure. “I got him!” He cried out. 

I let out a surprised hum. “Wow, I didn’t think the plan would actually work.” 

An impressed smile on my face, I gave Ace a thumbs up as I glanced over at Deuce. “Get ready to catch him.”

Deuce blinked. “Catch...him?”

I froze, arm slowly sinking back down to my side as I turned around to face him, my eyes wide with barely concealed distress. “Yes. Catch him. So he doesn’t fall and break all his bones.” 

“I-uh..” Deuce cleared his throat. “Haven’t learned how to do that yet…” he finished in a small voice.

“Ah.. Ah fuc-“ Before I could complete my sentence, I heard a small, metallic snap and everything came crashing down. The chandelier toppled to the ground, resulting in a loud crunch as it landed onto the wooden tables. The glass bulbs surrounding the lights shattered on impact, sending glass shards spraying into the air and onto ground. The main metal column and arms of the chandelier managed to survive, but I could see a couple dents here and there as Deuce and I ran over to the wreckage. 

Immediately, I grabbed Grim out from the debris. I wasn’t going to risk him escaping again. Thankfully, he didn’t seem too injured, just a bit dazed. Deuce had extended a hand to help Ace up, but instead of taking it, he swatted it away, leaping up to his feet by himself and grabbing Deuce by the collar of his shirt. Wheeling around to face me, he grabbed me by my blazer and tugged me close, taking in a deep breath as he looked at both of us with pure, fiery rage burning bright in his eyes. “Are you two.. IDIIOOTTSS?!” He roared. “We caught Grim, but if the headmaster finds out we busted the chandelier…”

I shuddered involuntarily. If Crowley found out, it would be game-over for all of us, but realistically, a wrecked chandelier wasn’t just something we could hide either. It was only a matter of time before someone walked in on the remains of the chandelier and reported it to the staff. I could only hope that we would be out and gone by the time that happened.

“If I.. find out?” 

My chest tightened at the voice. No, no, no, no, no. It couldn’t be, right? I couldn’t be _possibly_ that unlucky. I turned around, and there stood Crowley, arms crossed as he glowered at the four of us with enough power to scare off the devil himself.

I chuckled. “Ahaha… We’re in danger.”  
**————————————————-  
Ace: >:3**

**Grim: >:(**

**Ace: :0**

**Ace: >:p**

**Eve: I hate running.**

**Eve: Hey pretty boy! Stop him!**

**Deuce: Cauldron! I choose you!**

**Eve: Wow, third degree murder.**

**Ace: Sike, you thought! I’m alive!**

**Eve: >:0 witchcraft??**

**Eve: Whatever, help us with the windows.**

**Ace: Lol, no.**

**Deuce: Help them with the windows.**

**Ace: Got it.**

**Eve: lol, I ship it.**

**Eve: Where’s the cat?**

**Eve: There’s the cat!**

**Grim: *flies up on chandelier* Checkmate.**

**Juice: I have a plan!**

**Eve: Concerning, how about we don’t?**

**Ace: Yeah, listen to her!**

**Eve: Incredible, how about we do!**

**Goose: *yeets Ace***

**Ace: Wanna see an epic gamer move?**

**Eve: Great, now catch him.**

**Caboose: Uhh-**

**Chandelier: Gravity- is working.**

**Ace: That was stupid. Now let’s run before Crowley-**

**Crowley: Mhm? Go on.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eve lowkey (highkey) ships Ace and Deuce.


	12. Crowley’s Still Scary

“You weren’t satisfied with damaging the statue, so you decided to destroy the chandelier as well...” Crowley murmured. The air in the room shifted, causing a shudder to rack through my body. “This... is the last straw! I will have all of you expelled!!”

Everyone stilled.

Expelled. It was such a simple word, but my brain refused to process it. Despite the gravity of the situation, I let out a small chuckle. It was ironic that I could study and comprehend complex theories without any issues, yet the simple combination of seven words was enough to make my brain short circuit. I lowered my head. It was pathetic.

Deuce was the first to recover, leaping forward with both of his hands clasped together in a pleading gesture. “Please! Anything but that!! I have things I need to do at this school!” He begged.

Crowley remained as icy as before, looking down at the ravenette with a sharp glare. “You have nothing to blame except your own idiocy.” 

A small noise left Deuce’s throat as he recoiled back. It was quiet, yet so full of anguish that it left me stunned. I had dragged that poor boy into my own troubles and now he was getting punished because of me. Somewhere, something inside me began to burn and twist itself into a tight knot of guilt. I frowned and looked away. It didn’t help.

Deuce recovered from his shock. “I will pay for all of the expenses if I have to!” 

Crowley tutted, shaking his head. “This is no ordinary chandelier.”

“Of course it isn’t...” I sighed. Of all the chandeliers we had to break, we had to go and break the magical one. 

Crowley gestured to the ruins of the chandelier with his staff. “This is a magical chandelier that uses candles that burn for all eternity! It was a piece made by the legendary master of magical tools and has been entrusted to the school since its very foundation! Taking into consideration its historical value, it would cost no less than a billion madol.” He looked back at Deuce. “Can you pay for those damages?”

“A b-billion madol?!” The boy stuttered out. 

“B-but teacher,” Ace stepped forward, attempting to put on a confident smile. “Can’t you just fix it right up with magic..?”

Crowley shook his head. “Magic is not all powerful.”

He stepped into the mess of glass and metal, eyes scanning for something on the ground. Bending over, he carefully rifled through the fragments of glass, pulling out two opaque, crystalline shards. “More importantly, what we call the heart of any magical tool, the magic crystal, was shattered. Because no two magic crystals are the same… this chandelier will never be lit again.”

The sentence held an unbearable weight to it, a sense of finality that crushed all hope of redemption.

“How can that…”

“Crap… what have I done? What am I going to tell mom...?”

Crowley made a sweeping gesture with his cane, his expression hard as stone as he glowered down at the four of us. “From this moment forward, the four of you are officially...” he trailed off, seemingly staring at nothing as he slowly lowered his cane.

“No, I rescind my statement. Miss Liaz,” he turned to look at me, his eyes softening just the slightest bit as he took in my expression. “Were you involved?”

I stared at him blankly, my brain processing his words and his sudden mood switch as I swallowed thickly. “Was I... involved?” I repeated slowly.

“Yes. Last night, I lost my composure. I scolded you for something you did not do, and in front of a crowd no less. Despite that, you reassured me that I was not at fault, and so to show my gratitude, I am now granting you the opportunity to speak. Please, tell me if I was incorrect in assuming your involvement.”

My head was completely empty. Was this a Hail Mary? Was this my karma repaying me for what I thought to be basic courtesy? Whatever it was, I didn’t care, I was absolutely going to take it. No way was I about to risk expulsion, especially not for something I didn’t have a hand in-

But I did. I did have a hand in it. My head flooded with thoughts, whirling around at breakneck speed as they pulled up memories of the past, memories of everything I did. I didn’t pull Grim out of fighting Ace, I didn’t stop Grim from chasing after Ace when we could’ve silently done our work and left, I didn’t stop Deuce from flinging Ace at the chandelier. I had so many opportunities to avoid this situation, but I didn’t take any of them. I was absolutely involved in this. Hell, I was directly responsible for it.

I looked over at the pair of students I was about to abandon. Ace was staring off to the side, avoiding my gaze as he bitterly clenched his fists together. Deuce however, was staring directly at me, a miserable, yet almost accepting look on his face as he kept his eyes locked onto mine. It was too intense. I backed off and tore my gaze from his, looking down at the still dazed Grim in my arms. He was unresponsive to this entire ordeal, but I knew if he could, he’d say something ridiculous. Something so utterly, ridiculously Grim that it’d be funny. I looked back up at Crowley and let out a deep sigh. Damn this moral compass of mine.

“I thank you for taking my words to heart,” I began slowly. “but unfortunately, you are correct. I am involved in this fiasco. Before you reinstate your previous statement though, I ask you this. How can we fix the chandelier?”

Crowley seem somewhat surprised by my response, but he recovered quickly enough. Any traces of sympathy or guilt he had evaporated into thin air as he narrowed his amber eyes at me. “Excuse me?”

I forced myself to meet Crowley’s stare, my heart hammering against my rib cage as I stepped forward to stand in front of Ace and Deuce. “There’s no way a one of a kind chandelier was entrusted to a college of all places. You can say what you want about this school’s prestige, but people will be people. If the builder, or principal, didn’t have the foresight to put a protection charm, spell- whatever onto that chandelier, then that's their fault for not thinking ahead.”

At this point, my mouth was running like a faucet. I couldn’t stop myself from throwing the slight jab at Crowley, and based on his souring expression, I knew I had to cut to the point and fast.

“Regardless, there has to be a way to fix the chandelier. You said it yourself, ‘Magic isn’t all powerful.’ so the chandelier wouldn’t have lasted for eternity anyways. If the builder was as legendary as you said they were, they had to have made a way to replace the crystal, right?”

Crowley didn’t immediately respond, and thanks to that damn bird mask of his, I had no clue what was going on in his head. What I did know though, were that my prospects were looking grim. Less than twenty four hours at this college and I had already been the direct and indirect causes of three arson cases. Granted, two of them technically weren’t my fault, but after this spectacular train wreck, I doubt it mattered.

Finally, he heaved a weary sigh, bringing my anxiety back down to a somewhat healthy level as he crossed his arms. “You.. are right.”

Ace and Deuce both snapped their heads towards Crowley. “Eh?!” 

“The magic crystal for this chandelier was mined in the Dwarfs’ Mine.” He brought a clawed hand to his chin. “If we have the same kind as the original crystal, repairs might be possible-“

“Then I will go find a magic crystal!” In the blink of an eye, Deuce bowed down at a sharp forty five degree angle, his back stiff as a board. “Please, allow me to go!” 

Crowley blinked, no doubt surprised by Deuce’s sudden gesture. “...I have no guarantee that there are any left in the mine…” He warned. “It has been closed for a while and it is very possible that it has been exhausted of crystals.”

Deuce straightened back up, a steeled glint of determination sparkling in his eyes. “I’ll do anything to get the expulsion rescinded.” 

His words carried the same weight of finality that our expulsion did, yet it was somehow lighter, an air of hope surrounding it. Turning back to Crowley, I casually shrugged, trying my best to play it cool. “What harm would it do to let us try? Best case scenario, we find the crystal and fix the chandelier. Worst case scenario, we simply delay our expulsion.” 

My reasoning seemed to sway Crowley, but I could tell that he was still on the fence. I needed one final push to fully convince him. “The Dwarfs’ mine is off campus.” I added. “Anything we break there won’t belong to the school.”

“...Fine. Because I am gracious, I shall give you one night. Come to me with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning, or face expulsion.” A tiny voice in the back of my mind suspected that he was just trying to kick us off campus for thirteen hours, but regardless of his ulterior motives, I was still grateful for the opportunity.

Deuce beamed, a blinding smile on his face as he bowed down again. “Yes! Thank you very much!”

I nodded, copying his bow, albeit at a shallower angle. “Thank you for your kindness Headmaster Crowley.”

“I suppose...” Ace sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Let’s go get that magic crystal and be done with it.” 

Reaching an arm out, I grabbed his collar, tugging him down into a bow as well. “He means thank you.” I corrected.

The three of us straightened back up as Ace ripped himself out of my grasp, a disgruntled frown on his face. Before he could spit out an insult or retort, Crowley cleared his throat, giving the two of us a pointed look. “Use the Gate in the Mirror Chamber to go directly to the Dwarfs’ Mine.” He ordered. “If I find out that you’ve broken something else,” He lowered his voice, leaning down to make direct eye contact with each of us. “It’s not just expulsion that you’ll face…”

Deuce stiffened, nodding his head in a swift motion. “Yes sir!”

Satisfied that his point had been made, Crowley stalked out of the room. I didn’t dare breathe as my eyes trailed after him, his threat ringing loudly in my head. As soon as he turned the corner, I let out a sigh, relaxing my tense body as I slumped over in relief. “Damn, I forgot just how scary Crowley is.”

The two males beside me made a small noise of agreement, obviously still processing the fact that we weren’t all expelled. “Holy shit.” Ace breathed out. “We really just did that.”

“Don’t rest on your laurels just yet,” Deuce chided. “We still have to find another replacement for the crystal.” 

Ace rolled his eyes, his incredulous expression melting off as an annoyed frown tugged at his lips. “Whatever you say Mr. Serious...”

We walked over to the exit, a brief second of hesitation passing between us before we pushed open the doors. Fortunately, Crowley was already out of sight, so we didn’t have to deal with any awkward mishaps.

Grim finally shook himself out of his dazed state with a small snort. He shifted around in my arms, blinking wearily as he lifted his head back to look at me. “Huh..What-“ He gently shook his head, the flames in his ears leaving small trails of sparks behind them. “What did I miss…?” He groggily murmured.

I stared down at the cat, transferring his weight over to one arm as I used the other to poke him in the cheek. “You lucky son of a gun, you just missed the most terrifying moment of your life. Long story short, because of someone, we have to go find a magic crystal to repair the chandelier or else we’re expelled.”

Ace placed a hand on the wooden banister, glancing back at me with a raised brow as we walked up the staircase. “Speaking of which, what was that?” 

I tilted my head. “What was what?”

He frowned, waving his hand around in a vague gesture as if it would convey his thoughts. “When you were talking about your idea of repairing the chandelier, you sounded so… professional?” Ace grimaced, his face scrunching up in disgust like he just ate something sour. “Ugh, ‘You’ and ‘Professional’ don’t belong in the same sentence…”

I rolled my eyes. “Look who’s talking. Sad that you aren’t capable of critical thinking?”

“Right back at you. We wouldn’t even be in this situation if you hadn’t let your cat run free! Honestly, you still haven’t learned to keep him on a leash or something?”

“Excuse me?!” Grim hissed. “The Great Grim would never be leashed by anyone, especially not by my own henchman! If you want to point fingers, then point one at Spruce over there! He threw you at a chandelier!”

Deuce didn’t bother to correct Grim as he let out a sigh, pushing open a large pair of wooden doors. “How about we don’t point fingers at anybody? Our goal is to get a magic crystal, and then return it to the Headmaster. You can point your fingers after we finish the job.”

I reluctantly nodded. He made a good point after all. After we retrieved the magic crystal, I would never have to see either of them ever again. Well, I’d probably stop by to see Deuce every once in a while. He was alright.

“Aaah…” Ace sighed. “Why did today turn into something like this? Today is just just not my day.”

Deuce lightly chopped him on his head, a disapproving frown on his face. “Now is not the time to regret your actions. What’s done is done.” Ignoring Ace’s peeved glare, he turned to face the mirror floating in the center of the room. “Magic Mirror, please take us to the Dwarf’s Mine!!”

At Deuce’s command, the smooth glass mirror began to ripple, swirling around like a cyclone as a bright beam of light peeked through the spinning vortex. Grim squirmed his way out of my grasp, curling himself around my neck to get a better view of the mirror as he stared at it with bright, curious eyes. Without hesitation, Ace leapt through the mirror, causing the glass surface to shudder as he passed through it. Deuce grabbed onto the edge of the mirror, readying himself to step through, but for some reason he paused, looking back at me. Extending a gloved hand towards me, he gestured towards the mirror, a tentative smile on his face. “Ladies first.”

I smiled back, placing my hand in his. “What a gentleman.” 

Carefully placing a foot through the mirror, I felt for the ground on the other side. Once I made contact, I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath before stepping through. A calming silence swept over me in the space between, like the quiet in the eye of a hurricane. It was familiar, incredibly familiar, yet I couldn’t figure out why. As quickly as it came, it faded away, replaced by the sounds of nature as I emerged through the other side.

Deuce came through soon after, immediately scanning the forest around us with a keen eye. “So this is the Dwarfs’ Mine…” He muttered. “It used to be prosperous thanks to its magic crystal mining but...” He gestured towards the forest around us, not knowing what else to say. 

“Uhhh..” Grim whimpered, hiding behind me like I was some sort of shield as he glanced around warily. “It feels like something could jump out at us.”

I scoffed. “Honestly, it reminds me of our dorm. The only difference is that instead of spiders and cobwebs, there are trees and mosquitoes.” 

In front of us stretched a long dirt path, leading to a small river with an even smaller bridge on top. The path continued on the other side, splitting into two roads. The right path disappeared from view, obscured behind the thick, leafy foliage, while the left path led to a small, quaint cottage sitting amidst the trees. “How about we ask the people inside about the mines?” Deuce suggested.

Ace let out a small sigh, tucking his hands into his pockets as he nodded towards the house. “Let’s get this over with then.”

Was there anyone in that house? There were no lights shining through the windows, nor was there any smoke wafting up from the chimney. If I had to make a bet, the house was abandoned. Cautiously crossing the bridge, the four of us followed the path to the house. Up close, my guess was further cemented. Long vines curled around the walls of the house, dipping and weaving themselves through the cracks in the walls. The windows were all opaque with a thick layer of dust, and sections of the roof had collapsed. There was no way that anyone lived in this house.

Regardless, Deuce had the common decency to knock on the door. “Good evening…” No response. “I guess it’s abandoned.” He nudged the door open, stepping through the doorway with a soft frown on his face. “It’s a mess in here.”

He was right. The chairs were strewn left and right throughout the room. The few lucky chairs that were still standing were rotting away with dark splotches of fungi covering its surface. Everything that wasn’t wood was either visibly cracked, or had enough dust on it to rival the dorm Crowley had plopped us in. Now that I thought about it, both of them were actually quite similar. 

“Puwah! I got a spider web in the face! Peh, peh!” Grim rubbed his face, attempting to remove the sticky webs, but he only made it worse. I leaned over, pulling his paws away from his face as I began to pluck the white threads off of his fur. Yep, just like our dorm.

Ace bent down, taking care not to get any dust on his pants as he pulled a chair upright. “Aren’t the tables and chairs on the small side? Are they for kids?”

Deuce hummed. “I think they are. This was probably a lively home when the Dwarfs’ Mine was flourishing.” 

“Speaking of which, shouldn’t we check that out?” I ran my hands through Grim’s fur one last time to get rid of the final bits of spider web. “It’s obvious that no one lives here, so unless we want to poke around upstairs, we should get going.”

Ace nodded. “We probably won’t find anything except dust up there anyways.”

Once we stepped out of the house, I took in a deep breath. It felt good to inhale fresh air instead of the old, dusty air in the house. Backtracking down the path, we made our way to the intersection, this time, taking the path that split to the right. It was a horribly awkward walk to the mines. None of us had anything to say to each other. Thankfully, it didn’t last long and we arrived at the entrance of the Dwarfs Mine without any problems. 

It wasn’t anything special. It just looked like your average abandoned mine. The only thing that stood out was all of the foliage growing around it. The entrance was partially blocked by the roots of the tree growing above it, while the rocks surrounding the entrance were all partially covered in some sort of moss. The place hadn’t been touched by humans in a long, long time. 

Grim looked at the entrance, then back to us, and then back to the entrance in a series of quick motions. “W-we’re just gonna go into that pitch black hole?!” He stuttered out. 

I shook my head. “No, we should make a plan before we just waltz in. Who knows what’s lurking in there.” 

Ace snickered, a taunting grin on his face. “Are you two scared? How lame~!”

“H-Haah?!” Grim puffed up indignantly, swatting Ace’s hand away. “My henchman might be scared, but I’m definitely not scared at all! I-in fact, I’ll take the lead! You guys can follow me!”

Ace mockingly saluted him, a coy smirk on his face. “Aye aye sir~!”

The two of them disappeared down into the dark void of the mine, leaving Deuce and I to stare after them. I sighed, rubbing my temples in frustration. “And that, is how you set up the beginning of every horror movie ever written.” 

Even Deuce had to chuckle at that one.

I walked into the cave, Deuce trailing behind me. Almost immediately, I bumped into Ace and Grim as they stumbled about, trying to adjust their vision to the darkness. “W-Why is it so dark?” Grim complained.

I rolled my eyes, not that the gesture was visible to anyone. “It’s a cave, what else did you expect?” 

I placed my hands against the cavern wall, slowly feeling around for anything useful. A pickaxe, a torch, or maybe a hanging lantern if I was lucky. After a bit of drifting, my left hand bumped into something. Shifting my hands off the wall, I ran them across the object. It was about waist height and five feet in length, with two triangular supports keeping it upright. Was it a blockade?

Whatever it was, it felt like it was made of wood, so it would probably work. Heaving it off the ground with a grunt, I positioned it over my left knee, slamming it down with enough force to fracture it into two. It broke with a sharp snap, startling Ace, Deuce, and Grim, who all let out their respective yells of surprise. “Woah! What was that?!” Ace shrieked.

“Something snapped!” 

I shifted the barricade over, repeating the process and scaring the males once more. Bending down, I picked up the length of wood that I had broken off. It was about a foot and a half long with uneven spikes along the broken edges. “Hey Grim, can you make your ear flames brighter for a second?”

“Y-yeah, sure.” I was surprised by how easily he complied. I expected a bit more resistance from him. Then again, we were all scared and in the dark, so it made sense that he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Grim’s ears flared up, glowing a brilliant white as they illuminated the cave around us. Taking care not to poke Grim’s ear, I stuck the piece of wood into the flames, waiting for it to catch fire before drawing it back. I turned to face the group with a bright smile, gesturing to the torch with a jazz hand. “Ta-dah! We now have a torch!”

Deuce returned my smile, giving me a polite golf clap while Ace huffed and crossed his arms, not quite impressed, yet not unimpressed either. Ignoring Ace’s lukewarm response, I handed the torch over to Deuce, turning back to the wooden blockade. “Give me a minute and I can make three more-”

“Wait..!” Deuce put a gloved finger against his lips and spun around to face deeper into the cave as he waved the torch around in front of him.

Ace groaned. “What now?”

“Something’s there..”

A small snicker echoed from within the cave before two translucent figures bobbed their way out from the darkness, floating into the light of the torch with matching eerie grins carved onto their faces. 

“Eeek!!” Grim’s ears flattened, putting out his flames as he jumped back towards me, curling around my neck like I was his lifeline. 

“Heee hee hee! Our first visitors in ten years!” Which one was talking? Both of their grins were unmoving on their faces as they drew closer. 

“Why don’t yourselves at home...”

“For eternity!”  
**————————————————-  
Crowley: You’re all expelled!**

**Ace: Can’t we just fix it?**

**Crowley: No.**

**Crowley: Actually, I learned from my mistakes. Eve, here’s your get out of jail free card.**

**Eve: Yes, but actually no, and here’s my presentation on why you should give all four of us a free card.**

**Crowley: Fine. You have thirteen hours, now get out.**

**Ace: Wow, you can actually be smart??**

**Eve: Same to you.**

**Deuce: GentlemanTM**

**Eve: Ew mosquitoes.**

**Ace: Look, there’s a house. Maybe there’s people.**

**Eve: Doubtful but ok.**

**(There are no people)**

**Grim: I’m scared.**

**Ace: Scaredy-cat~!**

**Grim: I am no longer scared.**

**Eve: Problem-solving skills.**

**Ghosts: OoOoOoO spoopy.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVED writing the part where Eve had to really think about whether she wanted to get that blame-free card or not. I think it showed off what she’s really like when the chips are down on the table, selfish on instinct, but ultimately not willing to abandon others.
> 
> The part where she vouched for the trio instead of ditching them? Ooh, it was fun to switch from her usual sarcasm to her serious, academic voice.
> 
> Also, just to super clarify because I kind of feel that the scene wasn’t as specific as I wanted it to be, Eve didn’t vouch for the trio because she’s fond of them, (well actually, she’s fond of Deuce and Grim) she did it because her morals told her to, which is why she goes right back to sassing Ace immediately after.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading the chapter, if you spot any grammar and spelling mistakes, please scream at me in the comments, aside from that, constructive criticism is very much appreciated!


	13. Absolutely Anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: (1/1/20) Holy cheese on a cracker, I reread through this chapter and ooohhhh nooo sweetie. It’s so bad. I’m crying so hard rn. Bright side, Chapter 14 is in the works and it’s actually readable!

“Sure! Show us around then!” I looped both of my arms around Ace and Deuce, dragging them up to the ghosts with a wide, dopey grin on my face. I couldn’t verbally tell the two males my plan, but I hoped that they were smart enough to keep silent and play along.

Much to my surprise, Ace almost immediately copied my smile, subtly elbowing Deuce to do the same. “Yeah! We’d love that, wouldn’t we Deuce?” 

The ghosts visibly wavered at our unexpected response, the corners of their mouth drooping just a bit as they stared at us in what I assumed to be surprise. It was only for a split second, but it was more than enough time for me to dart past them, pulling the Ace and Deuce along with me as I sprinted down the cave. “Hold on tight Grim, this is gonna be a bumpy ride.” I muttered. 

He dug his claws into my arm, trying his best to stay on as he was jostled about. “Well could you make it any less bumpy?! You’re carrying an important passenger here!” I suddenly had the newfound urge to grab him by the his neck and chuck him back at the ghosts. I shelved the urge, mentally labeling it for later use as I ran faster, making sure to swerve left and right through the tunnels just to spite him.

Our head start didn’t last very long. Projectiles, ranging from small pebbles to stones the size of baseballs, began to shoot after us. Some of them bounced harmlessly off the walls, while others managed to hit us. I was lucky enough to dodge most of the larger ones, but I wasn’t sure if the two behind me were as lucky. 

All at once, the rocks stopped flying around. I frowned, risking a small glance over my shoulder. Did the ghosts lose interest in us, or was this some kind of trap? I wasn’t the only one to notice the lack of flying rocks either. Ace was the first to stop running, propping himself up against the cavern wall when he realized that we were no longer being shot at. “Why.. Why is this place haunted with ghosts?!” He panted between breaths.

“I... don’t know, but we don’t have time to figure it out. Let’s just go and find the crystal as quickly as we can!” Somehow, Deuce wasn’t worn out by the run. He was standing perfectly upright, arms crossed in a strict manner as he stared at the rest of us expectantly.

“Don’t think you can just order me around,” Ace growled. “If you hadn't thrown me at the chandelier, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with!”

Deuce scoffed, his composed expression melting off his face as he shot Ace a dirty glare. “You wanna talk about who started it? It’s ‘cause you wouldn’t clean the windows!”

“No, it started when that _furball_ burned the Queen of Hearts’ statue!”

Grim huffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “That’s what you get for making a fool outta me!” 

“Making a fool out of you?! You little-”

“All of you!” Deuce snapped. “Do you not understand the situation we’re in?! We’re all expelled if we don’t get back with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning!”

“I get it already, so stop patronizing me! It’s really ticking me off..!” Ace shot back. 

I leaned myself against the cavern walls, grimacing as the livid group of males continued to hot-potato the blame to each other. It was like watching children fight over who broke their mother’s vase. I sighed. This was taking way too much time and effort. I should’ve just taken the blame-free pass from Crowley and left. Sure, I would’ve had some lingering guilt, but it would’ve been far, _far_ better than watching these three scream and argue like baboons.

I opened my mouth, ready to tell them off, when I saw a glint of light from deep within the cave. A rush of icy, cold fear tingled down my spine the longer I stared into the darkness. Something wasn’t right. Looking back at the trio, they were all still shooting remarks as they passed the blame back and forth. Either they were so caught up in their argument that they didn’t notice the new presence, or I was being overly paranoid and imagining things. 

I decided to keep watching the cave just in case. A moment later, a gurgling growl echoed out from the darkness as another ray of light reflected back from the cave. I swallowed thickly. Paranoia doesn’t gurgle. “Hey…” I murmured. “Not to interrupt your quarrelling, but I heard something from the cave.”

One by one, they all fell silent, following my gaze deeper into the cave as they strained their ears to listen for a sound.

“..-on’t..-ive..wo..”

Ace recoiled back. “W-what’s that voice?”

A rush of fear wrapped itself around my heart, forming a cold cage of terror as I pushed the myself off of the cavern walls. “I don’t know, but anything that sounds like it’s being possessed by a demon should generally be avoided!” I signed up for getting a crystal out of a potentially empty mine, not encountering the Devil himself in the middle of an abandoned mine with nothing to defend myself. Whatever was in there was not to be messed with.

“St..one..sss...mine..”

“I think it’s... getting closer.” Deuce muttered, waving the torch around in front of him.

I nodded vigorously, tugging on their sleeves with my free hand as I desperately tried to drag them away from whatever was approaching. “Mhm, and I think we should be leaving!”

“Stone… is MIIIIINNNNE!!!!” Out from the depths of the cave emerged a large, almost humanoid monster. Instead of a human’s face though, it had a giant glass bottle sitting on its neck, filled to the brim with an inky black substance. The bottle had a visible crack in it, letting the liquid inside slowly trickle out onto its tattered red blazer. 

Grim took his eyes off of the monster for a brief second, glancing around the cave as he realized I was missing from the group. “E-eh?! Where’s Eve?”

“She already ran away!” Ace sputtered out.

I didn’t dare look behind me as I yelled back at them. “Damn right I did! Hurry up and start moving!”

They took my advice and scampered away from the monster. I was still winded from our earlier run, so it didn’t take long for them to catch up with me. 

“What the heck is that thing?!” Deuce shouted over the monster’s indecipherable roars.

Ace grimaced. “I know, it looks so nasty! But didn’t it mention a ‘stone’!?” 

“W-what?!” Grim shrieked. I had never agreed with Grim more. I had no idea how Ace and Deuce could communicate with each other without freaking out over the bootleg Bendy and the Ink Machine monster chasing after us.

“St..one.. won’t.. give!!” The monster’s yell had a gargle to it, like it was screaming through a mouthful of water.

Deuce stopped running, nearly causing Ace and I to run into him as he turned around to face the monster behind us. “So there really are magic crystals left!” 

“N-n-nope!” Grim violently shook his head, forming an x with his arms as he pointed to the monster in the darkness. “I’m a genius, but I can’t beat that thing!”

I nodded, jerking a thumb towards the cave exit. “I’m with Grim on this one! It’s time to run!!”

“But we’ll be expelled without it..” It was only for a brief second, but even in the dim light, I could see Deuce’s resolve shift as he looked back into the dark void of the cave. “I’m going back!”

“You self-sacrificial little-” I couldn’t even finish my sentence before he dashed back into the cave.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!!” Ace yelled. 

Without missing a beat, he charged after Deuce, forcing me to make a tough decision. Follow them in, or leave them behind. I groaned, shoving my face into my hands as I looked back into the cave. “Goddamn it.”

I followed them in. 

“I cannot, under any circumstance, be expelled!” Deuce thrust the torch towards me as he pulled out his wand, pointing it at the monster. “Come forth, cauldron!”

A bright shimmer appeared above the monster, dropping a familiar black cauldron onto its head. Somehow the monster’s glass bottle head didn’t shatter, and as the cauldron fell onto the ground with a dull thud, it let out a deep, gargling roar.

“Leave! Leave!! LEAAAVVVE!” The monster swung its giant fist around like it was trying to swat a fly. It managed to land a strike on Deuce, sending him flying into the cavern wall with a bone-crunching thud. Whether he actually broke a bone or not, I couldn’t tell, but I’d be impressed if he even managed to maintain consciousness after such a blow.

Ace scoffed. “Stand back if you can’t control the situation Mr. Serious! I’ll show you how it!’s done!” He sent a swirling gust of wind towards the monster, but it simply brushed past the beast. It continued to swing its fist around, eventually meeting its target and sending Ace crashing into the wall beside Deuce. I swallowed thickly, eyes flicking between the two downed males and the monster as I held my torch out in front of me. Despite being the one who held the torch, the monster decided to go after Grim next. I could hear fire and shrieking, no doubt all from Grim, but was too busy running over to the two injured males on the side to really pay attention.

I knelt down, shaking them by the shoulder with my free hand. “Hey...hey! Can either of you hear me?”

Ace nodded, but his eyes were dazed, as if he couldn’t quite process what was going on. Deuce just let out a groan, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath. At least they were both conscious. I gingerly pulled Ace up to his feet, snapping my fingers in front of his face. Immediately, he shook his head, eyes clearing up as he darted his gaze around. That seemed to do the trick. I tried to pull Deuce up, but he was down for the count. “Ace, you need to carry Deuce for me. He’s conscious, but too out of it to walk.”

Ace blinked owlishly before his brain finally processed my words. His jaw dropped wide open as he gaped at me with a disbelieving scoff. “Me? Why me?!”

“I’m holding the torch. Grim is a cat. That leaves you.” I deadpanned.

“I-it’s not working at all!” Grim shrieked. Glancing over to the ongoing battle, things weren’t looking so hot for us. Well, they were hot on account of Grim using his flames, but with a raging roar, the monster put out all of the flames with a single swipe of its hand. We were out of time.

“Now or never Ace, pick him up! We need to go!” I screamed.

“Fine! Fine! I got him!” Ace hoisted Deuce up, throwing him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry as we began to flee. The sudden movement seemed to be enough to shake the ravenette out of his stupor. He glanced up, staring at the monster as we began to book it down the tunnel. “B-Behind that thing..” Deuce groaned. “At the end of the tunnel, there’s something...”

Ace turned around, his eyes focusing in on the sparkling light. “That light.. is it a magic crystal?!”

“GOOOOOHH! Won’t...give!!” The monster blocked our view of the crystal, violently slamming its fists into the ground like it was trying to intimidate us.

It worked.

Grim was deathly pale, something I wasn’t aware that cats could be as he began to drift towards the exit. “L-L-Lets leave!! We’ll be done for at this rate!”

“Mhm! Time to bounce people, let’s move!” I pulled Ace away from the crystal, not that it was hard. The real challenge was getting away from the monster. It wasn’t fast enough to catch up to us, but it was hellbent on driving us away from the cave. Even after we ran past the mine’s entrance, we didn’t stop. We kept running further and further, until the entrance to the mine was almost out of sight. “Is-Is this far enough?” Grim wheezed.

“I don’t think... I’ve ever run that fast before.” Ace murmured, leaning to the side as he let Deuce slide off his shoulders.

“Yes. Who knew that ter-“ I took in a deep breath. “-terror would be a _fantastic_ motivator.” I shot back. 

“Oh, shut it! What in the world was that thing anyways?! No one said anything about that!”

“It didn’t seem like any old ghost either... that was a monster.” Deuce muttered. He was slumped against a tree, still a bit dazed from the whole ordeal. 

Ace sighed. “Let’s just give up and go home. I’d rather get expelled than fight that thing.”

“Wha-?!” Deuce immediately leapt up to his feet, any and all signs of being slammed into a wall mere minutes ago completely gone, replaced by offended disbelief. “Don’t screw with me! I’d rather die than face expulsion! There was a magic crystal right in front of us, and you want to go home?!”

Ace let out a humourless laugh, narrowing his eyes at the furious ravenette. “You talk big for someone worse at magic than me. Go with the useless girl and her cat if you want, I’m done.”

“Ohh, that right?!” Deuce’s voice dropped into a growl as he strode towards Ace. “Go on then! Leave us and walk away sniveling like a spineless coward!”

“Is it just me, or did Deuce suddenly get a lot scarier?” Grim muttered. It wasn’t just him, the sudden switch in Deuce’s personality almost gave me whiplash as my mind tried to catch up.

“Haah? A coward?” Even though a tall, menacing Deuce stood in front of him, Ace somehow managed to keep his cool as he stared him directly in the eye, lowering his voice to match Deuce’s. “Who exactly are you talking about, huh?”

“Hey, maybe now isn’t the best time to start a fistfight.” I interjected. I could deal with an argument, but I drew the line at fighting. Not only would it be a pain to clean up, but physical wounds were less likely to be forgotten. It would make keeping the team together almost impossible.

“H-huh?” Deuce bashfully cleared his throat, breaking their intense eye contact as he glanced away. “My bad.. I lost my composure a bit. At any rate, I’ll be going back into the mines. I’ll figure out a way to beat that thing and come back out with a magic crystal!”

“However, judging by the chandelier incident, you’re a complete idiot.” Ace scoffed. “You couldn’t even land a hit on that thing earlier, but now you’ll ‘figure it out’? It’s going to end the same.”

“Come again?!” Whatever button Ace had pressed seemed to reactivate Deuce’s rage. He whirled back around and grabbed Ace by the collar of his shirt, slamming him into a nearby tree with enough force to knock the wind out of _my_ lungs. “Then why don’t you think of-“

I wedged my hands between the two, pushing them away from each other. “Okay, that’s enough. Hands off each other. You two need to chill the hell out. Before we make any rash decisions, let’s review our situation. Our goal is to get a magic crystal, but there’s a monster in the way. It’s what? Six? Six-thirty pm? Crowley gave us until sunrise tomorrow to get it. We have over _ten_ hours. Instead of calling it quits and getting expelled, or rushing back into the mines and dying, how about we use our collective brain cells to form a plan?”

“A plan? You mean get along and work things out?” Ace let out a cold laugh. “You have no problem saying lame things with a straight face, do you?”

Deuce sighed. “As much as I hate to say it, I agree. No way am I working with this loser.”

“But.. isn’t it lamer to get expelled on the first day of school?” Grim asked. Whether it was on purpose or not, he managed to grab both Ace and Deuce’s attention with that innocent question. I quickly nodded, jumping onto the train of thought. “He’s right. That’s not cool at all.”

Ace made a small noise at the back of his throat. “Uhh- that’s…” He trailed off, his eyes flicking around the group before he heaved a long sigh. “Fine! We’ll just have to get it done right then!” 

Deuce glanced towards Ace, then the cave, and then back to us, silently weighing his options against his pride before letting out a small sigh. “But... what exactly should we do?” He asked. 

“Is magic an option?” I suggested. “Couldn’t we just summon a magic crystal or something?”

Deuce shook his head. “Like the headmaster said earlier, magic isn’t all-powerful. If you can’t imagine it then it won’t appear.”

“But we all saw the crystal sparkle, right? Can’t we just imagine that?”

“Summoning is one of the more complicated skills. You have to know exactly what you want, or you run the risk of having something else appear instead.”

Ace scoffed. “Why do we have to explain this to you, huh? This is basic knowledge. Not only do you not know who the Great Seven are, you don’t know basic information? You really do need to go back to kindergarten.”

I rolled my eyes, a snarky comeback on the tip of my tongue, but surprisingly, Grim beat me to the punch. “Hey, only I can insult my henchman like that!”

Within seconds, the conversation devolved into senseless banter as the two shot snide remarks back and forth. It was somewhat amusing to watch them argue back and forth. Neither of them could get a solid edge over the other, so they both continued with their insults, some of which were more creative then others. It was like a game of… “Cat and mouse.”

Deuce frowned, completely caught off guard by my sudden statement. “What?”

I jumped up, snapping a low-hanging branch clean off the tree. Dragging the stick across the ground, I drew a messy map of the forest. “Two of us can lure the monster out of the cave. Once it’s out in the open, we can attack it tag team style. Then we can double back and grab the magic crystal without any problems.” I looked back up at the trio, a wide smile on my face. “The only question left, is who’s the bait?”  
**————————————————-  
Everyone: UwU**

**Ghosts: Wow, didn’t expect that-**

**Eve: SIKE!**

**Ghosts: Welp, let’s start throwing things then.**

**Ace: Alright, what was that??**

**Deuce: I don’t know, but we need to find the crystal!**

**Ace: You mean ‘you need to find the crystal’. This is your fault.**

**Deuce: No u.**

**Ace: No, Grim.**

**Grim: No u.**

**Eve: Uhh.. how about we leave before-**

**Monster: rawr.**

**Everyone: AAAAA-**

**Deuce: But crystal…**

**Eve: But living.**

**Deuce: Nah. *proceeds to get his ass handed to him***

**Ace: *also proceeds to get his ass handed to him***

**Eve: Now’s a good time to get my OTP together.**

**Everyone: *Escape***

**Deuce: I wanna go back in.**

**Ace: I wanna leave.**

**Eve: I wanna be smart and make a rational decision. Let’s get this over with already.**

**Deuce and Ace: No.**

**Grim: Lame.**

**Deuce and Ace: Fine.**

**Eve: Idea time.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, but like, exploring the house and the cave shouldn’t have taken more than two hours. Like, I didn’t miss a huge action sequence that took up five hours or something, right?
> 
> Some more ADeuce to cleanse your soul. Sort of. If you really, really, really squint.


End file.
